2015-16 Season Preview: Sevilla

Coach: Unai Emery

Key signings: Ciro Immobile, Adil Rami, Yevhen Konoplyanka

Key sales: Aleix Vidal, Carlos Bacca

Last season: 5th

This season: 4th

Predicted finish is the average finish of the Football Espana team.

It all seemed like a well-directed film; no bloopers, no retakes as three, astonishingly, inch-perfect free-kicks left a 52,000-strong crowd in Georgia with their jaws dropped. Eventually, it all culminated in nine goals in an unforgettable 120 minutes of play as Barcelona narrowly edged out Sevilla 5-4 in the UEFA Super Cup.

If anything though, that very match exhibited all the qualities that we have come to associate with Unai Emery’s troops. Resilience, as well as possessing the ability to break down the best defences with breathtaking efficiency, has come to define what is now Andalucia's undisputed No 1 side.

Their previous season began with the sales of the likes of Alberto Moreno and, more significantly, Ivan Rakitic to Barcelona. However, the acquisitions of starlet Denis Suarez and the arrival of the relatively-untested Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak helped ease the duo's departures.

It it all began with a bang as the Andalucians won seven of their opening nine matches to reach as high as second, before inconsistency throughout the season saw them challenge Valencia for a Champions League spot, a battle they eventually lost.

Nevertheless, back-to-back Europa League titles, the latest of which saw them edge out Dnipro 3-2 in the final marked their return to Europe’s elite club competition this season.

Sevilla, despite their silverware last season, were unable to avoid the annual Spanish exodus as the likes of Carlos Bacca and Aleix Vidal led as a host of exits, a list which also included Iago Aspas, Gerard Deulofeu, Piotr Trochowski and several others leave for pastures new.

Yet, if their performance in the Super Cup was anything to go by, the mass clearout has had a negligible impact as Monchi has done well to snap up proven performers Ciro Immobile, Adil Rami and marquee Yevhen Konoplyanka, whose dynamic style of play on the wing could see the 25-year-old set the League alight alongside the former Borussia Dortmund talisman.

The key to Sevilla’s attack, though, is Argentine midfielder Ever Banega, who arguably enjoyed his most consistent season in 2014-15. With a wealth of attacking talent in front of him, Banega will be tasked with providing creativity to a dynamic front-line. Undoubtedly, the 27-year-old will be central to Emery’s plans as Coach, the man who was linked with Milan earlier this summer and whose tactical flexibility has created a much more consistent Sevilla.

There's no doubt that the Basque trainer will be looking for a more-concerted team effort as they seek to not only crack the top four in La Liga but also attempt to become the Champions League’s surprise package this season.

La Liga - Club News