UEFA Champions League winners Manchester City will tonight play UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup final to be played on Wednesday, August 16, at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece.
With Pep Guardiola missing Kevin De Bruyne in the midfield, Mancity will have to play without the midfield general for four months, and it starts tonight against Sevilla.
Whereas Manchester City will be playing for the first time in this competition, Sevilla is participating in their seventh Super Cup but vying for just their second victory. Sevilla’s sole triumph arrived in their first appearance back in 2006, when they beat Barcelona 3-0.
Mancity has beaten Sevilla four times in their last four meetings and is the favourite to win tonight’s match.
However, while talking to the press, Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the Sevilla coach.
“When you see a Mendilibar’s team play, you can recognise his influence; you can immediately tell it’s his team, they get forward quickly; they make quick use of the wings; they put in a lot of crosses; they get into the box well; and they are aggressive and are immediately on it. In fact, under him, they eliminated Manchester United and beat Roma in the final,” Guardiola said.
“He produced some great performances on the knockout stage. Just as we say, Real Madrid is usually the favourite to win the Champions League, and Sevilla are the favourites in the Europa League,” he added.
“I tip my hat off for what this club has done in this competition—it’s incredible. They know how to perform in European competitions, and it will be a good UEFA Super Cup final,” Guardiola noted.
The triumphant team will secure a cash reward of 4.5 million euros, with the runners-up receiving 1.5 million euros.
Consequently, the total prize for the winning side amounts to 6 million euros. Furthermore, the participating teams will be entitled to participation bonuses, potentially reaching up to 1.5 million euros.
