Final two last-16 first legs set to kick off

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BARCELONA (Reuters) – Embattled Leicester City turns its attention to the one competition it has had success in during a nightmarish season for the English champion when the Foxes visit high-flying Sevilla on Wednesday for their Champions League last-16 first leg.

Europe’s elite competition has been a welcome distraction for Claudio Ranieri’s side, which has come crashing back down to earth after last year’s logic-defying title win, but keeps defying the odds in Europe.

Leicester finished top of its group and conceded just one goal in its first five games, and a brief escape is just what it needs as its domestic woes show no sign of easing.

A winless start to 2017 in the league has left the club one point and a single place above the drop-zone, and in danger of becoming the first team since Manchester City in 1938 to be relegated the season after winning the English championship.

On Saturday, the Foxes endured an embarrassing exit from the FA Cup at the hands of League One side Millwall despite playing most of the second half with an extra man. LEICESTER CITY goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler has warned his teammates that they must avoid defeat in Sevilla in the first leg of their last-16 tie tonight to have any hope of avoiding a premature exit from the Champions League. Leicester finished top of its European group, but is struggling in the Premier League, where it sits a point and a place above the relegation zone. Sevilla on the other hand is third in La Liga, behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, and has won the Europa League for the past three years in a row.

They will get little respite from from a transformed Sevilla side, however, which is enjoying its most exciting season in a decade as it chases Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga and mounts a serious challenge in the Champions League after winning the Europa League three times in a row.

Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli has brought a new speed and intensity to the Andalusian side’s possession play that yielded its biggest ever points total in the first half of a season.

“He has very specific ideas that he has implanted in our heads and we have responded really well to them,” said midfielder Pablo Sarabia.

Sevilla lost a number of top players last summer last summer, including losing top scorer Kevin Gameiro and midfielders Grzegorz Krychowiak and Ever Banega.

Yet smart work by sporting director Monchi has helped it shrug off those high profile departures and build a dynamic squad around two former Premier League players, former Stoke City midfielder Steven Nzonzi and playmaker Samir Nasri.

Stevan Jovetic has given the club an extra lift in attack since joining on loan from Inter Milan last month and created both goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Eibar which kept Sevilla on the heels of league leader Real and second-place Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Juventus’s rampant domestic form doesn’t make it a favorite against FC Porto, but the Serie A leader is looking increasingly unstoppable heading into the first-leg clash on Wednesday.

Since shifting to a 4-2-3-1 formation after a defeat at Fiorentina in mid-January, Juventus is playing with the kind of fluid ferocity that many of its continental rivals lack.

Juve now turns its focus to the Champions League, where a date with Porto offers a stern examination of claims that its domestic form makes it a favorite for Europe’s grandest prize.

Squad rotation has underpinned Juventus’ Serie A consistency and Allegri will have to shuffle his pack again for Porto. Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli are both doubtful with muscle problems and playmaker Miralem Pjanic is struggling with an inflamed left ankle.

Porto, second in the Portuguese top flight on 53 points after beating Tondela 4-0 on Friday, has no injury concerns or suspensions, although Andre Silva and Felipe are one booking away from suspension.

Late Tuesday, Manchester City and Monaco, along with Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid squared off in first-leg duels that ended after press time.