SEVILLA are targeting an immediate return to winning ways at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium when they host Fiorentina in tonight's Europa League clash (8.05pm, live on ITV4).
The two sides meet in the first leg of their semi-final in Spain with the cup holders having seen their 35-match unbeaten home run ended in Saturday's 3-2 Primera Division defeat to Real Madrid. "We are saddened to have lost at home," said Sevilla coach Unai Emery. "But I'm proud of the work done by my players. "We made Real suffer and we could have even taken a draw."
The defeat dropped Sevilla to fifth position in the La Liga standings, three points adrift of Valencia, who hold the last Champions League qualifying place. "Our options in both La Liga and Europe remain intact," Emery said.
Sevilla beat Villarreal 5-2 in the last 16 and won 4-3 on aggregate against Zenit St Petersburg in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Retaining the Europa League title will see Sevilla win the competition for a record fourth time, although overcoming Fiorentina will be a huge task.
Sevilla have won their last seven European home games but have never beaten an Italian side in four previous attempts. Moreover, Fiorentina are unbeaten in their last 12 European away games. "It's going to be a very difficult tie," Sevilla defender Alex Vidal said. "Fiorentina are fifth in Serie A and have done well in Europe."