Copa Del Rey
Barcelona vs Sevilla Preview
- Date: Jan. 30, 2019
- Time: 3:30 p.m. (est)
- Network: beIN Sports
- Location: Barcelona, Spain
- Venue: Camp Nou
- Seating Capacity: 99,354
The king of Cups welcome Sevilla at Camp Nou for the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal.
Additionally, everything points out at Lionel Messi returning to the lineup with possible comeback in mind.
Despite this, Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde has made it cleared that players will rest and concentrate in La Liga and Champions League.
Meanwhile, Sevilla come to this game with a 2-0 lead earned at Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán last week.
A win for the Catalans would keep the treble hopes alive. A loss and departure of competition won’t be devastating for them either.
Views From Both Camps and Team News
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde:
“We are a team that, at certain times, always take a step forward and tomorrow it’s our turn,” Valverde said, sending out a warning to his opponents.
“We always want to win, and I know that every time we don’t, it’s a small step back; some think it’s disappointment and others view it as failure.”
“If we advance or don’t go through, the only certain thing is that on Saturday the sun will be there and we will have another game.”
Additionally, Valverde will bring out his big guns against Sevilla. Ousmane Dembele and Samuel Umtiti remain out. Rafinha is not expected to play the remaining of the season with a ligament injury.
Sevilla boss Pablo Manchin said:
“Ninety minutes at the Camp Nou can feel like a very long time, anything can happen,” Pablo Machin said.
“We’re going to fight, compete and try to follow the game-plan that we’ve created, that’s what we plan to do.”
“We know that we’re facing a fantastic opponent, one who is searching for another magical comeback, but we’ll try to score, that will greatly increase our chances of progression.”
Meanwhile, Maching will have his hands full with the Catalan side. With Jesus Navas and Aleix Vidal out, Machin will utilize Quincy Promes in that zone. Nolito and Munir El Haddadi will be sidelined as well.
Possible Lineup
Barcelona XI: Cillessen; S. Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur; Messi, L. Suarez, Coutinho.
Sevilla starting XI: Soriano; Mercado, Kjaer, S. Gomez; Promes, Sarabia, Banega, Vazquez, Arana; Silva, Ben Yedder.
Prediction
Sevilla are certain to have one foot in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. However, their opportunity at chasing their sixth Copa del Rey title can be stopped depending on how well the Catalans play today, specifically Messi.
Not to say the least, a spark from Philippe Coutinho alongside Luis Suarez could also disperish Sevilla’s dreams of a sixth title.
Barcelona 4 – 0 Sevilla (Barcelona 4 – 2 Sevilla, aggregate)
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Photo credit to James Anderson via Flickr
