Italian powerhouse Juventus, with five semifinalists competing across the three UEFA club competitions, are gearing up to battle Europa League specialists Sevilla in the first of the two-legged fixture Thursday night at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
Although they have never lifted the Europa League trophy before, Juventus, in contrast to their visitors, is determined to emerge as the champions and claim some silverware in a controversy-laden season.
They are eager to secure a lead to carry to Spain for the return leg.
Having been humbled in the Champions League group stages last autumn, Juventus have shown impressive grit and resilience in adapting to the rigors of Europe's second-tier tournament.
They have previously vanquished Nantes and Freiburg and recently beat Sporting CP in the quarterfinals.
Manager Max Allegri's side has shown a typically pragmatic approach to their gameplay. As a result, it has maintained an impressive clean sheet record of not conceding a single goal from open play in five Europa League games.
They have maintained an unbeaten record in 12 previous home matches, managing six clean sheets.
Juventus have been equally cautious this season in Serie A, specializing in 1-0 wins. However, these victories have been punctuated by setbacks such as losing twice to top-flight newcomers Monza and being thrashed 5-1 by Napoli.
Despite having their 15-point penalty temporarily overturned, Juventus stumbled several times more. Still, back-to-back wins over Lecce and Atalanta last week have given them a renewed hope of securing a Champions League spot by finishing in Italy's top four, currently in second place in the standings.
Juventus' aspirations of winning the Coppa Italia title this season were crushed, having lost to their arch-rivals Inter, leaving the Europa League as their last remaining route to claim silverware.
Allegri's expensively assembled squad has showcased a blend of young talent, including Nicolo Fagioli and English winger Samuel Iling-Junior, who scored the opener against Atalanta last Sunday, along with proven veterans.
The future looks bright in Turin, but the pressure is on Allegri to produce results, especially in Thursday's game.
Sevilla have a less impressive record against Juventus, having won only one of their previous four encounters, losing twice. Still, they have won each of their last six matches against Italian clubs in the Europa League, culminating in their victory over Inter in the 2020 final.
The six-time winners of the competition have struggled this season, losing two coaches, but they are hitting form at the right moment.
After ending their seven-match unbeaten streak with a loss to Girona, they bounced back to beat Espanyol last weekend, with an 88th-minute winner securing the victory at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Currently occupying the eleventh spot in La Liga, Sevilla's hopes of relegation have been put to rest, and they are targeting a top-half finish in the remaining five games.
Under their third manager of the campaign, Jose Luis Mendilibar, they have reached the Europa League semis more times than any other club, having previously knocked out PSV and Fenerbahçe before their quarterfinal win over Manchester United.
Sevilla have managed to lift the trophy on every previous occasion when they have made it this far, but to reach the 2023 final against either Roma or Bayer Leverkusen, they will need to outmaneuver an obdurate Juventus side.
