Sevilla vs Barcelona: La Liga Match Preview

The Champions return to La Liga action before the international break as Luis Enrique’s men face a tough task at the Sánchez Pizjuán when they take on Sevilla in their 11th game of the 2016/2017 Liga season.

Barça know this is a win or burst situation and can not afford to drop any points in order to continue the pursuit of Real Madrid who are likely to beat Leganés at the summit of the table.

It will be a very difficult game for Luis Enrique and his men as the coach failed to win any of his last two Liga games against Sevilla at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Barça are still not playing at a tough level, struggling to beat last place Granada last week and then losing 3-1 to Manchester City on Tuesday.. Barça know they must bounce back for their fans on Sunday night in a game that promises to be a thrilling encounter.

TEAM NEWS

What makes the game even harder for Barça is that they are still missing key men Andrés Iniesta and Gérard Piqué through injuries. Both players are joined by Aleix Vidal, Jordi Alba and Jérémy Mathieu in the injury list, forcing Luis Enrique to summon Marlon and Nili to the game just to complete his squad. See the full FC Barcelona squad for the game against Sevilla.

For the hosts, they’ve gotten an injury boost as attacker Samir Nasri recovered quickly after picking up an injury last weekend and he will be available for the game as he made Jorge Sampaoli’s matchday squad. The team will miss defender Gabriel Mercado who’s out through suspension and Pareja out injured.

PREVIOUS FIVE MEETINGS
Barcelona 3-0 Sevilla
Sevilla 0-2 Barcelona
Barcelona 2-0 Sevilla
Barcelona 2-1 Sevilla
Sevilla 2-1 Barcelona

FORM GUIDE
Sevilla: WWWDW
Barcelona: WWWWL

Predicted Sevilla Lineup: Sergio Rico; Carriço, Adil Rami, , Escudero; Mariano, Nzonzi, Samir Nasri, Franco Vázquez; Vitolo, Vietto, Ben Yedder.

Predicted Barcelona Lineup: Marc André Ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Javier Mascherano, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne; Iván Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, André Gomes; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Neymar

BarcaLens Prediction: It will be an entertaining game and a very difficult one for Barça. Sevilla have a huge chance of winning due to Barça’s recent bad form but the Catalans still remain odds-on favourites to scoop it – Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona.