Sevilla vs Barcelona preview

October 2, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Sevilla vs BarcelonaThe Europa League and Champions League holders will meet for the first time since the highly entertaining UEFA Super Cup match that Barcelona ended up winning 5-4.

Sevilla will be under pressure to improve after losing three of last four, while the Catalans are in a similar position having recorded just one comfortable win this season.

For the first time in a while, the squad rebuilding process at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is taking longer than expected, although it is still too early to turn against Unai Emery and his men.

Los Rojiblancos have only looked like themselves in said Super Cup clash with Barcelona and the 3-0 Champions League win over Borussia M’gladbach, with three defeats in last four a definite cause for concern.

The lack of confidence in the squad was painfully evident in the midweek’s clash with Juventus, where Sevilla failed to carve out a single opportunity despite the fact their their opposition was not at their best.

And with Barcelona the next side to arrive at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, the problems look set to continue, even if los Rojiblancos will be looking to sold-out stadium to provide much needed inspiration.

Chances are we will see another open game between the La Liga rivals, with both teams to score paying 1.60 (3/5) at BetVictor.

Unai Emery could have Fernando Llorente and Vitolo back to the side, but Pareja, Beto, Banega, Kakuta, Rami and Carrico remain in the infirmary.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Rico – Coke, Andreolli, Kolodziejczak, Tremoulinas – N’Zonzi, Krychowiak – Konplyanka, Krohn-Dehli, Reyes – Llorente.

Barcelona may be sitting ahead of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the La Liga standings, but team’s performances have left a lot to be desired.

Usually very convincing Catalans have only recorded one win by a margin greater than one goal and that speaks volumes about their performances.

Heavy defeats to Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo are enough to suggest that Barcelona are no longer a force to be reckoned with in Spain, and they could face all sorts of problems now that Leo Messi is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Narrow wins over Las Palmas and Bayer Leverkusen were not sufficient to seriously improve the atmosphere in the squad, so we do not find odds of 1.95 (19/20) offered on away win tempting.

There were more bad news for Luis Enrique seeing that Andres Iniesta suffered a hamstring injury that will see him miss around a month of action.

The good news is that Claudio Bravo and Adriano Correia are back in contention, but Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen continue to miss out.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Bravo – Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba – Roberto, Busquets, Rakitic – Munir, Suarez, Neymar.

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