FOOTBALL NEWS
20/02/2018 10:29, Report by Mark Froggatt
MATIC: WE'RE READY FOR SEVILLA
Nemanja Matic has stated Manchester United are prepared for the challenge of facing Sevilla at the passionate and ferocious Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Spanish team have only lost once at home since November 2016 and that was against local rivals Real Betis in La Liga last month. During that impressive run, they have notably beaten former Premier League champions Leicester City 2-1 and drawn 3-3 with our neighbours Liverpool.
Speaking to ManUtd.com’s Gemma Thompson ahead of this week’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg tie, Matic explained the players are ready for what is expected to be a lively, colourful atmosphere.
“They are a very good team and especially at home, where they have great supporters who cheer them on for 90 minutes,” Nemanja said. “We expect they are going to be aggressive from the start. But we know what our jobs are, we know what our qualities are and we are going to be ready.
“We are very happy to be playing in the Champions League again,” Matic told us. “Sevilla are a great team and this is a great opportunity for us to compare with them, and everyone is very happy that we have a chance to play against them. We respect them a lot, we know they are a very good team and I sure on Wednesday it is going to be a good game for the supporters.”
Interestingly, Sevilla have a number of Premier League players among their ranks, including former Manchester City winger Jesus Navas, who has already warned United not to underestimate his side.
There is clearly no chance of that happening, judging by the way Matic has spoken about their quality, yet the Serbia international remains confident of securing a positive result in Spain.
“They have a couple of players who have already played in the Premier League and for sure that is going to be better for them,” he said. “But we also have our qualities, which we will use.
"It is important to get a good result away from home in the first leg and not to concede a goal. It is going to be hard but we will do our best to get a good result, which is to win. We know what to expect.”
MUTV subscribers will be able to watch live coverage of Jose Mourinho's pre-Sevilla press conference on Tuesday evening from 18:30 GMT.