We’ve got an exciting fixture ahead of ourselves in the UEFA Super Cup this year as the Champions League winners, Bayern Munich, take on the Europa League winners, Sevilla. This competition might not be as prestigious as the others, but it surely has produced some cracking and nail-biting fixtures in the recent years.
Last year, we saw Liverpool and Chelsea in a really exciting match which ended in Liverpool’s favour after a close penalty shootout. A year before last, we witnessed an amazing Madrid derby as Atletico Madrid clinched the silverware for themselves in a high-scoring 4-2 win against Real Madrid. Therefore, football fans have a reason to think that this is going to be another one of those kind of games.
Bayern’s Ruthless Form
The sacking of Niko Kovac and the appointment of Hans-Dieter Flick proved to be a genius move from the Bayern board. Bayern Munich ended the last season on an extremely high note, winning the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and also achieving Champions League glory for the first time since 2013, winning the treble for the second time in the process. And how can one forget the 8-2 thrashing Barcelona received from the Bavarians in the quarter-finals!
Bayern have done a minimal amount of business in the transfer window so far, signing Leroy Sane from Manchester City for £40.5 million and securing free transfers of Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou from Schalke and Paris Saint Germain respectively.
Despite no pre-season for Bayern, they managed to pick up where they left off in their opening Bundesliga fixture, completely smashing Schalke by the scoreline of 8-0, with debutant Leroy Sane opening his mark. Flick really has put his team into the driving seat ever since he has taken over as the manager.
Sevilla’s 2019-20 Season: A Good End
Just like Bayern, Sevilla managed to end their last season in a very positive manner. Former Spain and Real Madrid boss, Julen Lopetegui did a fantastic job in his first season at Sevilla, finishing 4th and achieving Europa League success, which Sevilla won for the first time since 2016.
Sevilla’s journey to the Europa League triumph was not a walk in a park either. The Spanish club had to battle against difficult sides in almost all the knockout stages. Lopetegui’s side got past Roma in the round of 16, Wolverhampton Wanderers in the quarter-finals and Manchester United in the semi-finals to finally defeat Antonio Conte’s Inter in the final.
Besides achieving top 4 and winning the Europa League, Lopetegui has also got his side playing brilliant possession-based attacking football which has made Sevilla more enjoyable to watch as well.
Sevilla’s Decent Transfer Business
Following their successful 2019-20 season, Sevilla have managed to bolster some of the positions in their squad. As the left-back Sergio Reguilon’s successful one-year loan ended, he joined Tottenham Hotspur from Real Madrid. Sevilla’s new left-back signing, Marcos Acuna from Sporting for £9.75 million, is expected to fill the gap left out by Reguilon’s departure. The Argentinian player can also play as a left-sided midfielder.
Suso’s successful loan spell also led Sevilla to permanently bag him for approximately £21 million. Goalkeeper, Bono, signed from Girona for £3.6 million. Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic also returned to his former club, after spending 6 seasons in Catalonia, for £1.3 million. Real Madrid’s Oscar Rodriguez has also been a new arrival to the club, for £12.1 million.
Previous Meetings
Bayern Munich and Sevilla last played against each other in the 2017-18 Champions League quarter-finals, which resulted in Jupp Heynckes’ side advancing to the semi-finals.
*Bayern vs Sevilla previous results*:
- Sevilla 1-2 Bayern Munich, Champions League QF 1st Leg (3/4/2018)
- Bayern Munich 0-0 Sevilla, Champions League QF 2nd Leg (11/4/2018)
Predicted Lineups
Bayern started their full-strength lineup in their 8-0 win against Schalke, barring the left-back, Alphonso Davies, who was replaced by Lucas Hernandez. Flick would definitely love to add another trophy in the bag by prioritising the UEFA Super Cup, but Bayern return to face Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga three days later, so he would probably want to make a few changes to the lineup too. We are still expecting Bayern to play a slightly rotated lineup and rest a couple of key players for the Hoffenheim game.
Sevilla, on the other hand, will be playing their first competitive match of the season. Match sharpness could be a slight concern for them, but they did play a couple of friendly games to restore it. Sevilla play their opening La Liga fixture against Cadiz four days after the Super Cup, but we could still expect Lopetegui to start most of his first team players and a couple of new signings as well.
Bayern’s predicted lineup: Nubel, Pavard, Boateng, Sule, Davies, Kimmich, Tolisso, Sane, Muller, Gnabry, Lewandowski (4-2-3-1 formation)
Sevilla’s predicted lineup: Bono, Navas, Kounde, Diego Carlos, Escudero, Juan Jordan, Rakitic, Oliver Torres, Suso, Ocampos, De Jong (4-3-3 formation)
Predicted Result
The UEFA Super Cup in recent years has produced evenly-matched games rather than boring one-sided games. Both Bayern and Sevilla come into this fixture in a good form. There is no doubt that Sevilla have the ability to put on a decent show against big teams. But this is Bayern Munich we’re talking about and they look absolutely unbeatable at the moment and their squad looks stronger on paper too. We are still expecting Bayern to get past Sevilla with ease and clinch the UEFA Super Cup trophy for themselves.
Final result: Bayern Munich 3-0 Sevilla
Goalscorers: Lewandowski (brace) and Gnabry
