Match Previews

With Sevilla's title hopes shook by the defeat against struggling Gimnastic, they are expected to enter this match with the best available lineup... Striker Kerzhakov(sp) is out... Navas(r) also out, but Adriano(r) will be ready to feature following an injury... Sevilla have missed a golden opportunity to open a point gap between Barcelona and themselves on Sunday, when they've fallen to a 1:0 away defeat to struggling Gimnastic. The scoreline did little to picture the run of play, as Sevilla were the better team during most of the match, but have conceded the goal after missing a few good scoring chances. Nevertheless, the result was proof that the surprise package of Primera are slowly running out of steam and a title challenge looks more and more unlikely, although the poor form of rivals Barcelona and Valencia still gives the Sevilla fans some hope. The next assignment for Juande Ramos'  is to try to keep their hopes of retaining the UEFA Cup trophy, and in order to do so, they will have to grab a win in Ukraine or at least a high scoring draw. Sevilla's motivation in this competition was often disputed, as the Primera title race seems to be their priority at the moment. Coach Ramos has rested some first team regulars, including striker Kanoute(k),  in the first leg, but has announced that this won't be the case this time, although some squad rotation is a definite possibility, due to the tiredness of the players. The only new absentee for Sevilla is Russian striker Kerzhakov(sp), who has suffered a heel injury, but probably wouldn't start even if he was available due to Kanoute's return to the lineup. The visitors will also have to do without regular midfielder Navas(r), who has been struggling with injuries lately, but will have important midfielder Adriano(r) back, as he recovered from a calf injury.