Javi Garcia upbeat for Sevilla clash

Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder Javi Gracia is promising Sevilla a different game than the one last week when the sides meet on Thursday.

The Andalusians travel to Russia for the Europa League quarter-final second leg clash holding a 2-1 advantage from the Sanchez Pizjuan, but former Benfica and Manchester City man Garcia believes his side are capable of turning the tie around.

“We were happy with the result in Sevilla and will do whatever we need to win at our home stadium,” he told the club’s official website.

“We know they are strong because we saw how they played in the first leg, yet the game wasn’t in their pocket and they had to hold on to win.

“But they will be on a different pitch this time and with a different mentality, although we know we are going to have to give our best to be victorious.

“Maybe we were a bit defensive over there but that was what the situation called for and it worked for us in the first half.

“It was obvious they have a lot of heart and soul and wanted to do well in front of their own fans, while we tired towards the end of the game.”

The Spain international is aware that Sevilla’s danger men will be Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro and acknowledges they will need to be watched at all times.

“Bacca is maybe more capable of scoring but Gameiro can also get goals so I honestly don’t know who is the most dangerous.

“Both of them play at a high level and we’ll have to keep them off their game and control ourselves, making sure we concentrate to the point where it allows us to stop them scoring,” explained Garcia.

Tags Javi Garcia Zenit St Petersburg
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