The keys to Villarreal – Sevilla

The UEFA Europa League is reaching its decisive stages, and two Spanish teams go head-to-head to keep their tournament quests alive. Villarreal CF and Sevilla FC, both among the most on-song sides in the Liga BBVA, face off at El Madrigal in the first leg of the competition’s round of 16, and LFP.es takes a look at the keys to the clash, the fine shape the two teams are in and their European achievements in recent years.

Although this will be their first match-up in the UEL, the sides possess a wealth of 'flying hours' in Europe.

This will be the maiden meeting between the clubs in the Europa League, but both boast plenty of 'flying hours' in European competitions. So much so that los amarillos came within touching distance of the UEFA Champions League final in 2006, while los hispalenses have three Europa League trophies in their cabinet, as well as one UEFA Super Cup.

The goalkeepers
Sergio Asenjo and Sergio Rico are two prodigious youngsters who will be charged with protecting their teams’ goals in this crunch Iberian clash. The hosts’ keeper is no stranger to occasions like this, having already won the competition with Atlético Madrid. Meanwhile, Rico took over between the Sevilla sticks after number one Beto picked up an injury in the Liga BBVA. Unai Emery placed his faith in the young goalkeeper, and he hasn’t disappointed.

The outcome of the game will in no small part come down to the stability that the sides' central midfield pairings bring to their play.

Control of the midfield
The pairing formed by Vicente Iborra and Grzegorz Krychowiak for Sevilla will be tasked with keeping Villarreal's forward incursions in check. Their counterparts in the home team, the duo of Manu Trigueros and youth product Sergio Marcos, combine youth with versatility, nerve with solidity, desire with pride. The outcome of the match will depend to a large degree on the stability the central midfielders bring to their sides’ play.

On the wings, there’ll be pure electricity. Speed, beating players, one-on-one skill and incisive passes will be the formula with which the two outfits will look to open the scoring and penetrate their opponents' backline. Names such as Denis Cheryshev and Jonathan Dos Santos at Villarreal, and Víctor Machín and Aleix Vidal at Sevilla, will have the fans on their feet.

The double 'V'
The duel will have two star names: Luciano Vietto and Vitolo. The pair are the outfits’ most in-form players and their goals have helped their clubs to flourish. You need only look back as recently as the tournament's previous knockout round, when they were to the fore against FC Salzburg and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach respectively, the Argentine and the Canary Islander both hitting doubles to settle their ties and ensure their teams’ places in the next round.

Vietto has exploded in Europe, with five goals in eight encounters, while Vitolo has scored twice in five appearances. There can be no doubt that they will be the chief sources of danger on either side.