High-flying Sevilla are set to welcome La Liga champions in a highly expected clash on Sunday night, which comes days after Barcelona’s hugely surprising Champions League defeat at the hands of former manager Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Superb Sevilla
Europa League champions have endured a difficult summer which saw them lose their trophy-laden head coach and a number of first-team players during the summer transfer window. Rojiblancos however did well to replace Emery with Jorge Sampaoli, who managed to put all the new pieces together into a strongly competitive unit. Sevilla are once again a team to be reckoned with and have great results to confirm it. Having lost their opening three matches under new manager in UEFA and Spanish Super Cup, respectively, Sevilla went on to lose only one of their following 14 matches in all competitions. The high-flying form has put them a point behind their Sunday’s rivals and only three behind the league leaders Real Madrid. With fantastic support behind their back, Rojiblancos will be hoping to inflict another blow to the Catalan giants and made a huge step towards the very top of the table. Sampaoli’s men are coming off from an impressive 4-0 Champions League triumph over Dinamo Zagreb which put them one foot into the knockouts of the elite competition and there is no doubt the team will be keen to build up on the midweek success.
Carlos Fernandez is yet to recover from his knee injury and will not play any part in Sunday’s encounter. Manchester City loaned star Samir Nasri could be involved after shaking off the muscle injury he sustained last weekend against Sporting Gijon.
Can Barca bounce back?
Two weeks’ time made a great difference for Barcelona, who went from defeating Manchester City 4-0 to losing to the same side in England 3-1. Champions League defeat to Pep Guardiola’s men came after a couple of struggling performances from the Catalans who managed to sneak past Valencia and Granada in their last two La Liga outings, which proved to be quite the tasks for Luis Enrique’s men. The latest slump was a huge blow to the team and came at the worst time possible as Barcelona now face a daunting task of travelling to Sevilla without the favourites tag slapped on their back possibly for the first time this season. Barcelona trail La Liga leaders Real Madrid by two points and need three points to remain in the race for the top. Luis Enrique will be hoping Leo Messi will shrug off his poor and quite nervous performance against City and get back to his usual self to help the team go past the injury problems and grab the much-needed win. It will be easier said than done, but if anyone can pull it off – Barca can.
Backline problems continue for Barcelona with Jordi Alba, Jeremy Matthieu and Gerrarg Pique still missing out for the visiting side. Andres Iniesta is another notable player on the injury list and will be out for several weeks due to a knee injury.
Verdict
Jorge Sampaoli’s men face a stern test but a timely one for the in-form Rojiblancos, that will help them assess their title credential against the reigning champions. Three points versus Barcelona would be a huge morale-boost for the hosts, but he same can be said for Luis Enrique’s men as well. With that being said, we should be in for a highly entertaining match between two attack-oriented sides.
Top pick: Both teams to score – yes 1.50 (1/2) @StanJames
Alternative pick 1: Sevilla not to lose 2.30 (13/10) @Bet365
Alternative pick 2: Sevilla 5.5 (9/2) @Betfair