Barcelona v Sevilla – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Barcelona host Sevilla at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in La Liga on Friday night. Xavi’s side dropped points in midweek after resting players whilst Rojiblancos won 5-1 at home to continue a recent revival. Barca are unbeaten in six matches vs. Sevilla with five wins, with an aggregate score of 13-1 in that streak.

Barcelona Form

Barcelona have six wins and two draws from eight matches this season. They drew 0-0 at Getafe in the first match of the season before six successive wins. A 2-0 ‘thrashing’ of Cadiz followed as they had 24 shots and 3.48 xG but only got their two goals in the final 10 minutes. Another 3.07 Expected Goals were put up in a 4-3 win at Villarreal. A late goal came next in a 2-1 win at Osasuna.

Xavi’s side then put up three very enterprising displays with 13 goals scored. They thrashed Real Betis 5-0 in La Liga and then Antwerp 5-0 in the Champions League. On Saturday, they trailed 2-0 at home to Celta Vigo after 80 minutes before three goals in nine minutes to win 3-2. On Tuesday, Barcelona twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Mallorca after resting a few players.

Barcelona Team News

Barcelona are set to be without two key midfielders for this match. Pedri has a muscle injury and this one may come too soon for him. Frenkie De Jong has a twisted ankle sustained vs. Celta Vigo and he faces a month on the sidelines. Ilkay Gundogan, Gavi and Oriol Romeu will form the midfield trio.

Xavi rotated his side somewhat in midweek. Robert Lewandowski will return to the XI up front and Jules Kounde will start at the back. Andreas Christensen will compete for one spot with Ronald Araujo in central defence. Ferran Torres and Raphinha will also fight for one starting place down the right wing.

Barcelona Motivation

After dropping points in midweek, Xavi will want nothing less than three points here. His side have been much more attacking this season than last term, with two attacking fullbacks at times.

A draw would feel like a defeat and they won’t settle for one at any point. There are five days after this match before playing Porto away, so that forthcoming fixture won’t be a distraction.

Sevilla Form

It was a very tough start to the 2023-24 season for Sevilla. They lost their first three La Liga matches and also lost on penalties to Man City in the UEFA Super Cup. A late goal leak led to an opening-day loss to Valencia before a shock 4-3 loss at newly promoted Alaves with 67% possession. A 2-1 home loss to Girona saw Sevilla outshoot their opponents 21-8 but still come away with no points.

Things have improved a lot since then. They had 26 shots in a narrow 1-0 home win over Las Palmas before a tepid 1-1 home draw with Lens in the UEFA Champions League. A 0-0 draw at Osasuna on Saturday made it three unbeaten. On Tuesday, they thrashed Almeria 5-1 at home from 2.22 xG as they finally took their chances ruthlessly.

Sevilla Team News

Coach Mendilibar has five injuries to contend with for this big match. Midfielder Oliver Torres is ruled out and so are centre-backs Tanguy Nianzou and Marcao. Left-back Marcos Acuna has been missing for a month and is not yet ready to feature. Striker Mariano Diaz is injured and is yet to make his debut after joining from Real Madrid.

Ivan Rakitic was rested in midweek and will return whilst Sergio Ramos will hope to start at centre-back after no minutes in the last two fixtures. Lucas Ocampos is another player who was unused against Almeria and who could come into the starting lineup here.

Sevilla Motivation

Sevilla would take a draw away at Barcelona. They’re slowly rebuilding consistency and confidence after a dire start to the season.

Coach Mendilibar doesn’t favour intricate buildup play and won’t be too bothered if his side has less than 40% possession. They go to PSV on Tuesday night which may be a distraction as Sevilla put their full focus on European competitions.

Key Stats

Barcelona have won 6 of their last 7 matches (1 draw)

Barcelona have won 5 of their last 6 matches vs Sevilla with one draw (13-1 aggregate)

Barca have scored 21 goals in their last 6 matches

Sevilla are unbeaten in 4 matches in all competitions (WDDW)

Sevilla are winless in 4 away La Liga matches (DLLD)

Verdict

Barcelona have a great record against these opponents and they’re scoring goals for fun right now. Sevilla are looking more solid of late but they don’t have enough to avoid defeat in this one.