Seville should build on first-leg advantage

Champions League last-16 second leg
BT Sport 2, 7.45pm Tuesday

It's not often that two clubs go into the same match claiming it is the biggest in their history but that is how Leicester and Seville see it as they get ready to battle in their Champions League last-16 second-leg encounter at the King Power Stadium.

The stakes are high and the margins slender but for the winners history will be made as Leicester look to overturn a 2-1 deficit from Claudio Ranieri's final match in charge of the English champions.

Craig Shakespeare gets the opportunity to write the next chapter in the Foxes's fairytale, although for Seville this is also a major deal - the Spanish club last reached the final eight of the European Cup in 1957-58 - long before the Champions League was conceived.

Jamie Vardy's away goal has given Leicester a shot at further glory, although forcing the issue does not come naturally to the counter-attacking kings and at some stage it is likely the underdogs will have to adopt a more positive approach.

Seville could be forgiven for thinking they did enough in that first game to have put the tie to bed but there should be further chances to kill the tie and the visitors appeal to win this leg.

Jorge Sampaoli's side won the shot count 22-7 and had nearly 73 per cent of the possession at home but wasteful finishing cost them when Vardy halved Seville's advantage on a rare Leicester attack.

Seville have not played particularly well in recent weeks, although a 1-1 draw at Alaves is no great disaster and the 1-1 with Leganes on Saturday owed much to Sampaoli resting influential performers.

For starters Seville could look totally different in midfield with Vitolo, Steven N'Zonzi and Samir Nasri set to return, and talk of Sampaoli's squad hitting the wall could be wide of the mark.

Seville have lost only one of their last 13 matches and there were mitigating circumstances as Nicolas Parejo's red card after two minutes at Espanyol changed the whole complexion of the clash.

Sampaoli is not an easy man to nail down and Seville could line up in any number of different formations but player for player they are superior. Seville are third in La Liga, above Atletico Madrid, whereas Leicester are 15th in the Premier League, below Burnley, Watford and Bournemouth.

Vardy and Riyad Mahrez offer Leicester hope but City's only clean sheet in 13 matches in 2017 came at Middlesbrough and their 100 per cent home record in Europe this season is misleading.

Porto, Copenhagen and Club Brugge are not in the class of a Seville side who have won the Europa League three years running.

Recommendation
Seville
1pt 5-4 Betway

Bet on this game at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Leicester
Nampalys Mendy is missing with a knee injury and Molla Wague is unlikely to overcome a shoulder problem.

Seville
Luciano Vietto and Daniel Carrico have not travelled. Benoit Tremoulinas and Borja Lasso are injured.

Key stat
Seville have qualified on 17 of the 18 occasions they have won the first leg at home in a European tie.