Zenit St.Petersburg vs Sevilla preview - Zenit boosted by quartet's return

Posted Thursday, April 23, 2015 by PA

Zenit St Petersburg are boosted by the return of four key players as they look to overturn a 2-1 deficit in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie against Sevilla.

The Russian Premier League leaders welcome back defenders Domenico Criscito and Igor Smolnikov, midfielder Danny and influential forward Hulk, who all missed the first leg through suspension.

But the hosts will be without suspended duo Ezequiel Garay and Alexander Ryazantsev, the man who put his side ahead at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan before efforts from Carlos Bacca and Denis Suarez handed Sevilla control of the tie.

Zenit boss Andre Villas-Boas believes the returning quartet make his side a different proposition but he is not expecting an easy ride on Thursday.

He said at his pre-match press conference: "We know what we need to do and are going to play with our hearts. We want to make it through to the semi-finals.

"With (the return of) these players it is going to be a different game.

"We are going to play attacking football based on having four additional players but we know how capable our opponents are on the attack and the counter attack, so you have to play balanced football."

Sevilla coach Unai Emery knows the holders face a tough test when they travel to the Petrovsky Stadium.

"We know the tie against Zenit is not just 90 minutes, it is 180, and we are well prepared in case we go into extra time or beyond, because Zenit is a team that competes very well and are very experienced," Emery told a press conference.