Sevilla FC - Arsenal FC MATCH PRESS KIT Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla Tuesday 27 November 2007 - 20.45 CET Group H - Matchday 5 Contents 1 - Match background 7 - UEFA information 2 - Match facts 8 - Match-by-match lineups 3 - Squad list 9 - Competition facts 4 - Head coach 10 - Team facts 5 - Match officials 11 - Competition information 6 - Domestic information 12 - Legend Match background Arsenal FC secured their place in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round three weeks ago but there is still work for them to do to clinch first place in Group H. With three successive victories following their defeat at the Arsenal Stadium on Matchday 1, Sevilla FC are just a point behind and will overtake the London club should they beat them at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium. • Of more relevance as Sevilla pursue a place in the knockout rounds in their UEFA Champions League debut season is the five-point advantage they hold over SK Slavia Praha, the team they face in the Czech Republic on Matchday 6. They reached that satisfying position when a goal in each half from Brazilian midfielder Renato gave the Spanish side a comfortable victory on Matchday 4 away to FC Steaua Bucureşti. • Over the course of their UEFA Cup campaigns over the last two seasons – both of which ended with the Andalusian side holding the trophy aloft – Sevilla faced three opponents from England. In their only home fixture they defeated Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-1 in last season's quarter-final before drawing 2-2 away. The previous year they had drawn 1-1 away to Bolton Wanderers FC in the group stage before beating Middlesbrough FC 4-0 in the final in Eindhoven. • Arsenal were fortunate to claim a point on Matchday 4 with a goalless draw away to Slavia as goalkeeper Manuel Almunia twice denied the Czech side revenge for their 7-0 thrashing two weeks before. • Sevilla stepped out for their UEFA Champions League debut on 19 September full of optimism but Arsenal swiftly introduced them to the realities of this level as they beat them 3-0 in London. Cesc Fabregas' deflected first-half shot set the 2006 finalists on their way before Robin van Persie added a second a minute before the hour and substitute Eduardo da Silva rounded off a fine victory in added time. Arsenal followed up this start with a 1-0 win in Romania against Steaua, Van Persie getting the winner 14 minutes from time. Sevilla bounced back on the same night to beat Slavia 4-2 at home, Frédéric Kanouté, Luis Fabiano, Julien Escudé and Arouna Koné the men on target. • Arsenal have remained unbeaten in their last three trips to Spain, drawing 0-0 against Villarreal CF in the semi-final second leg two seasons ago to clinch a place in the final of Europe's premier club competition. In that campaign's first knockout round they had won 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu – the first time English opposition had prevailed away to Real Madrid CF. Last updated 25.11.2007 23:35:53CET Match background 1 Sevilla FC - Arsenal FC Tuesday 27 November 2007 - 20.45 CET MATCH PRESS KIT Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla • Before the Madrid triumph, Arsenal had won 3-2 at RC Celta de Vigo in the first knockout round of the 2003/04 tournament. Their previous six matches in Spain had brought five straight defeats and a draw. The Gunners have twice lost in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals to Spanish sides. Valencia CF beat them in 1979/80 and Real Zaragoza triumphed in the 1994/95 showpiece. • The other game in the section features Steaua at home to Slavia. Match facts Sevilla • Six Sevilla players have appeared in all six UEFA Champions League games so far this season, including qualifying: Andrés Palop, Ivica Dragutinović, Christian Poulsen, Seydou Keita, Jesús Navas and Luis Fabiano. • Palop's next appearance in UEFA club competition will be his 50th. • Keita and Adriano are both a booking away from suspension. • Sevilla FC lost their seventh Primera División game of the season on Saturday evening as they went down 2-1 against RCD Mallorca at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Ariel Ibagaza and Fernando Varela left the visitors two goals to the good at the interval and, although Frédéric Kanouté's header reduced the deficit five minutes into the second period and Varela was sent off with 20 minutes left, Mallorca held on. • "We showed a lack of concentration and it takes a lot of concentration to win matches," said coach Manuel Jiménez, whose side have not won for three games in all competitions. "The important thing is to improve in every respect. We couldn't think about the Arsenal game before the match with Mallorca but now that that game is gone, and as difficult as the defeat was, we'll be looking to Tuesday and a different competition. We'll be trying to beat a good team but we know it's not going to be easy." • Daniel Alves was suspended for the Mallorca match although Kanouté returned after a calf strain and Luis Fabiano shook off a minor ankle injury to start. • Team captain Javi Navarro has yet to play for Sevilla this season as he continues to recover from a knee injury and Julien Escudé is still sidelined by a groin problem that has kept him out since 7 October. Duda suffered a sprained ankle on 5 November and is expected to be out for a further two weeks. • José Ángel Crespo has undergone an operation on the broken cheekbone he suffered against Real Madrid CF on 3 November. "I'm very relaxed," said the defender, who is expected to be out for a further three weeks. "It will take a while before I get the feeling back in the right side of my face." • Dragutinović and Navas have committed to Sevilla until 2011 and 2012, respectively. "I'm very happy and my reward comes after a lot of hard work," said Navas. "I like being here and the club are obviously happy with my work. Our situation is ideal now, much calmer and the team are playing better and better." • Having claimed a third successive UEFA Champions League win on Matchday 4, Sevilla were brought back to earth on 11 November with a 3-2 Primera División defeat at Villarreal CF. After falling behind, Sevilla equalised through Kanouté on 34 minutes and although Alves was sent off for his second bookable offence before the break, it did not prevent the visitors taking the lead five minutes after the restart through Luis Fabiano. Guillermo Franco levelled for Villarreal (68) before a Matías Fernández penalty sealed the points three minutes from time. • Jiménez said: "Their goals came from dead-ball situations when each player is supposed to know who they are marking. We made it too easy for them. Despite playing with a man down we created just as many chances as they did. The result was totally unfair." Last updated 25.11.2007 23:35:53CET Match facts 2 Sevilla FC - Arsenal FC Tuesday 27 November 2007 - 20.45 CET MATCH PRESS KIT Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Sevilla • The loss was compounded by injuries to Kanouté (calf) and José Manuel Casado (ankle) who were expected to be unavailable for a fortnight apiece. Khalid Boulahrouz was available after his thigh problem but was not risked, while Federico Fazio sat out the match with a calf injury. • The Villarreal defeat was Sevilla's second away league loss in a row and their fourth in five matches on their travels. • On 13 November Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw at third division side CD Denia in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-32 tie. Ernesto Chevantón put the holders in front on Denia's artificial pitch after 75 minutes only for Pablo Vidal to head the equaliser two minutes later. The return is on 2 January. • Jiménez admitted: "For Denia it was the game of the year, they made things complicated for us. They ran all game and levelled almost immediately after we took the lead." • Sevilla's international contingent experienced contrasting fortunes as UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying came to a conclusion. Poulsen could not help Denmark through after a 2-1 defeat in Northern Ireland on 17 November ended their hopes, although Poulsen started a 3-0 home win against Iceland to end the campaign on a high note. • Dragutinović was also disappointed as despite recovering from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw against Poland, Serbia's hopes of escaping Group A were ended. The 17 November fixture with Kazakhstan was rescheduled to Saturday 24 November following heavy snow, though Dragutinović was left out of an experimental squad. • Aleksandr Kerzhakov had more to celebrate as Russia edged through. An unused substitute for the 2-1 defeat in Israel, he came into the side in Andorra as a 1-0 victory proved enough to leapfrog England into second in Group E. • Luis Fabiano was a second-half substitute as Brazil drew 1-1 in Peru in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying on 17 November. Three days later he started and scored twice in a 2-1 win against Uruguay, when Alves came on as a late replacement. • Brazil are now joint-third in the standings, level with Colombia who claimed back-to-back victories against Venezuela (1-0) and Argentina (2-1). Aquivaldo Mosquera played all 180 minutes. • Arouna Koné was part of the Ivory Coast party that suffered a 2-1 friendly loss to Angola in Melun, France on 17 November.