Mönchengladbach v Sevilla preview

• Martin Stranzl says Mönchengladbach are desperate to succeed
• Unai Emery: "We're determined our journey will not end here"
• Vicente Iborra's second-half goal earned Sevilla a 1-0 first-leg victory last week
• Mönchengladbach are unbeaten in seven European home games, winning seven
• Sevilla have lost five of their last nine matches, going down 4-3 on Sunday

"The team are in good shape and raring to go," said defender Martin Stranzl as his VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach side gear up for their UEFA Europa League round of 32 decider against holders Sevilla FC. "'If not now, when?' – that's sort of the motto."

Vicente Iborra scored the only goal in Spain last week as Sevilla took the initiative in the tie, yet Stranzl saw plenty of cause for optimism in Mönchengladbach's first-leg performance. "We know we can create chances, even against such a fine side," the 34-year-old Austrian explained. "It is just a shame we couldn't take them last time.

"We have to play a clever game and find a balance between attack and defence. We wanted to attack in Sevilla too, and this will not be much different. We need a goal, and if we score just the one it might go to penalties. We have to be well-drilled not to concede, because if we do, we would suddenly need three goals."

Borussia coach Lucien Favre, who has doubts over the fitness of defender Álvaro Domínguez, shared that concern, so will be urging his men not to leave the back door open as they push for an equaliser on aggregate. "We intend to play very intelligently – with pace and intensity but also with patience," he reasoned. "We have plenty of time to score."

Unai Emery during the first leg©AFP/Getty Images

The Swiss trainer believes home advantage tilts matters further in the Bundesliga outfit's favour, yet Sevilla's Unai Emery is adamant squad unity can make the difference. "We've brought all our players, even the injured ones like goalkeeper Beto," revealed the coach. "We're all in this together; we've announced that this won't be the end of our journey."

The Liga club have lost their last five away matches in all competitions – although the last three of those reverses would still suffice for an aggregate triumph. Emery, however, is not putting too much store in that form. "It's about doing everything as well as possible, but we also want to develop in every single game and improve. We take every competition totally seriously and focus on the next game. We'll devote all our energy to this match.

"European competition demands a high level of play and Borussia Mönchengladbach are a great example. We all want to experience these games, that's why we play football. We have lots of respect for Mönchengladbach, what they stand for and what they're capable of. It will be a great contest – we're the holders but that doesn't mean we're favourites. However, we've earned ourselves a lot of respect."