After having dropped points last time out, Barcelona will be keen on returning to winning ways when they host Sevilla in the league.
Defending champions Barcelona have made a decent start to the 2023/24 season, as they are unbeaten so far and will look to keep that intact when they host Sevilla, who have lost three out of their six games in the league so far.
The Catalan giants started off the new season with a disappointing draw. But, after that, they managed to win five games in a row in the league and overtook Real Madrid to claim the top spot. However, all has changed because of the draw they played out in their last outing.
Xavi’s men could not defeat RCD Mallorca and ended up playing a 2-2 draw with them. As a result, they have now slipped to third place on the points table behind Girona and Real Madrid. Barcelona will be eager to return to winning ways when they host Sevilla. But it won’t be an easy task.
The visitors have not had the best of starts to the new season. They lost their first three league games but have managed to get things back on track with two wins and a draw in their last three outings. Their recent form seems decent, and they should be able to put up a fight against the Catalan giants.
Sevilla are heading into this fixture on the back of a 5-1 win over Almeria. While Los Nervionense did not have the majority of the ball, the visitors were clinical in the final third. They created more chances and managed to convert on five occasions.
The Andalusian giants will look for a similar performance against Xavi’s men. But it won’t be an easy task as Barcelona will go all out for all three points. Meanwhile, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at this fixture and tries to predict the tactics they could deploy.
Team News & Tactics
Barcelona
The home team will be without the services of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong. Xavi made a few changes to his starting eleven last time out. But he is expected to call back the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde back into the team.
👀s on #BarçaSevilla pic.twitter.com/ZYjMkQxcir
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 28, 2023
Once again, it will be the 4-3-3 formation, where Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde will be the full-backs. Ronald Araujo will feature in the heart of the defence alongside Jules Kounde.
Oriol Romeu will be the defensive midfielder in the centre of the park. He will have the support of Gavi and former Manchester City skipper Ilkay Gundogan. They will look to dictate the game of this game and not allow Sevilla to have much of the ball.
Raphinha will feature on the right wing, while Portuguese international Joao Felix will continue on the left. Finally, Robert Lewandowski will be back in the starting XI to lead the line for the Catalan giants.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Cancelo, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; Gundogan, Romeu, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Felix
Sevilla
The visitors will be without the services of Oliver Torres, Mariano Diaz, Marcos Acuna, Marcao, Tanguy Nianzou, and Alfonso Pastor.
𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗨𝗣 ➡️ #BarçaSevillaFC 🔥 pic.twitter.com/VzT2K1AAVR
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) September 27, 2023
Jose Luis Mendilibar is expected to make minimum changes to the XI that started in their last outing which was a 5-1 win over Almeria. He will stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation, where Orjan Nyland will be in goal.
Jesus Navas and Adria Pedrosa will be the full-backs for this outing. Former Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos will return to the starting XI, and he will pair up with Loic Bade. The defence will have the tough task of keeping a star-studded Barcelona attack quiet.
Djibril Sow and Ivan Rakitic will be the two central midfielders. They will form the double pivot in front of the defence. The duo will look to help out their defence and initiate counter-attacks.
Erik Lamela will be the attacking midfielder in this fixture. Meanwhile, Suso and Dodi Lukebakio will be the two wide attackers on the day. Meanwhile, Youssef En-Nesyri will be the leader of their attack. All four of them found the back of the net in their last outing and they will be confident of getting a positive result heading into this outing.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Nyland; Navas, Bade, Ramos, Pedrosa; Sow, Rakitic; Suso, Lamela, Lukebakio; En-Nesyri
Key Stats
- Barcelona’s six-game winning streak came to an end when they played a draw against Mallorca last time out.
- Barcelona have won each of the last three fixtures against Sevilla.
- Sevilla have been on an unbeaten run in their last three league outings after starting the season with three losses in a row.
- The Catalan giants have been unbeaten so far this season.
- Xavi’s team haven’t lost to Sevilla at home in their last 20 outings in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Gavi
The 19-year-old Spanish international is already one of the mainstays of Barcelona’s first team. He has been doing wonders for them over the past few seasons and is expected to have a big say in where and how they end up this term. The teenage sensation has already featured in eight matches this season and has three goal contributions to his name.
Gavi has been in exceptional form throughout and whenever he is on song, it feels like the teenager could end up deciding games with very little effort. He is expected to start against Sevilla and could end up being the difference between the two teams.
Prediction
Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla
Sevilla did not get off to a great start in the 2023/24 season, but they have managed to put things back on track over their last three fixtures. As a result, they will be confident of getting something out of this away trip.
The home team are in red-hot form, they might have played out a draw in their last outing. But, they will be eager to return to winning ways and do have the firepower in their ranks to get the right result. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for the Blaugrana.
