Sevilla will look to assert their La Liga dominance they enjoy against Valencia when the two sides meet in the first leg of the Europa League at the Sanchez Pizjuan on Thursday.
Where to Watch Live:
The game is scheduled for an 9.05 pm local time (8.05 pm BST, 12.35 am IST, 3.05 pm ET) start with live coverage on Ten Sports in India. Watch the semifinal via live streaming online in India HERE, while Latin America viewers can go HERE. Viewers in Australia can live stream the game HERE, with the UK option HERE. US viewers can catch the action courtesy live streaming HERE, with the option in Canada to watch the game live online HERE. Audience in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the match live online HERE, while South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa viewers can go HERE.
Unai Emery, who was with Valencia for four years, will be doubly keen to get one over his former club but the Sevilla manager does not believe his team's superiority in the league - Sevila are unbeaten in their last 13 home games against Valencia -- over the past several years will have a bearing in this high-profile Europa League semifinal first leg.
"The Liga has nothing to do with this competition," Emery said. "The only thing that we have to focus on is this match. The final in Turin is a long way away. We have to stay in the moment.
"I was there for four years, and that made me a better person and a better coach, but I am now 100 percent Sevilla. We know Valencia, but the fact I know some of the players I trained is not an advantage for us. I expect the best from Valencia -- they are a good team with good players."
Sevilla outclassed Champions League regulars FC Porto in the quarterfinals, overcoming a 1-0 deficit in the first leg to thump the Portuguese giants 4-2 on aggregate. Valencia were equally, if not more, impressive in their quarterfinal tie, overhauling a 3-0 loss in the first leg to Basel to thrash the Swiss side 5-0 in the return leg at the Mestalla.
With the second leg of the semifinal tie also to be held at Valencia's home, the former UEFA Cup champions will know they will have a considerable advantage if they can come from Sevilla with a draw or a narrow defeat with an away goal.
"Once you get here you have to do everything possible to get further," said Valencia striker Paco Alcacer, who has scored seven goals in the competition this year. "We just need to play the game as if it is our last and get as much as possible out of the away leg so that we can be a bit more relaxed when we play at home
"[The teams] play more or less the same game. We have more of a threat up front and we have quicker, more decisive players on the wings."
Valencia won this tournament, then titled UEFA Cup, in 2004 and nothing will make the players happier than to repeat that success a decade later.
"That is what we are aspiring to and we are putting a lot of hope into this competition because it is good for the players and for the fans," the 20-year-old said. "If we do not get through it will be because things have not worked out, not because we have not given everything."
