La Liga champions kick off the 2016/17 season with a trip to UEFA Europa League winners Sevilla in the first match of the two-legged Spanish Super Cup tie. Much changed Rojiblancos have already opened the new season with the UEFA Super Cup clash against Real Madrid and this will be Jorge Sampaoli’s second chance to grab a trophy at the very beginning of his reign at Sevilla.

New chance for Sampaoli

Sevilla are coming from a turbulent summer during which the Rojiblancos ended up without several key players from last season such as Ever Banega, Kevin Gameiro, Coke, Jose Antonio Reyes and Grzegorz Krychowiak. What is more, La Liga side Sevilla lost their head coach Unai Emery who decided to take up a new challenge and move to Paris Saint-Germain, where he will be given a chance to make a further step in his career. Emery led Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League trophies and his successor Jorge Sampaoli will have big shoes to fill in at Rojioblancos bench. Still, the Argentine manager showed great courage and resolve in his first official game in charge as his side put in an inspiring display against Real Madrid in UEFA Super Cup clash. Sevilla ultimately lost the game despite having dominated the proceedings and Jorge Sampaoli needs to consolidate if they want to get a positive result from the first leg of the upcoming Spanish Super Cup game against Barcelona.

Sevilla’s new boy Franco Vazquez impressed in his first ever performance for Rojiblancos and will be expected to repeat the showings. Sampaoli will have almost a full squad to choose from with the exception of Mihael Krohn-Dehli and Benoit Tremoulinas who are still struggling with their respective injuries.

A quiet summer over for Barcelona

Unlike their Sunday rivals, La Liga champions Barcelona have had a relatively quiet summer as Luis Enrique decided to bolster his ranks with a couple of names that are expected to raise the level of play in the next season. Andre Gomes, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne and Denis Suarez are all expected to be valuable additions to the squad and it is fair to say that Barcelona brought exactly what they needed to be even stronger in the upcoming campaign. The Catalans have had a pretty successful preseason with three wins out of four games in total. A 4-0 defeat to Liverpool came as a huge surprise for Barcelona fans and overall football community, but Barca got back to winning ways with a 3-2 triumph over Sampdoria in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy match at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted on the first goal for Luis Suarez to prove he is in great shape ahead of the start of the new season. The Argentine has had a turbulent summer of failed expectations with his national team, but fans should be pleased to hear that Messi is on verge of changing his mind and ultimately returning to the national squad despite claiminghe is done with Argentina.

Neymar and Rafinha are both with the Brazilian Olympics team fighting for glory in their homeland, while Luis Enrique will also be without Jordi Alba who is having gastric problems and is expected to miss the game. Marc ter Stegen was the first-choice keeper for Cup games last season, but the Germany goalkeeper had a fall-out with the club and could be heading out of Camp Nou this summer.

Verdict

Sevilla will be looking for redemption for their loss to Real Madrid as Jorge Sampaoli is keen to put his early stamp on Sevilla performances. On the other side, Barcelona want to make a firm stance right from the start of the new campaign as the Catalans have their eye on every trophy they can grab this season.

Top Pick: Barcelona   1.62 (8/13) @Bet365

Alternative Pick 1: Barcelona/Barcelona   2.62 (13/8) @Coral

Alternative Pick 2: Luis Suarez to score anytime   1.91 (10/11) @WilliamHill