La Liga
Sevilla vs Barcelona Preview
- Date: Feb. 23, 2019
- Time: 10:15 a.m. (est)
- Network: beIn Sports
- Location: Seville, Spain
- Venue: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium
- Seating Capacity: 43,883
Barcelona will travel to Seville on Saturday for a match-up against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.
The Catalan side are attempting to go 10 points clear of Atlético de Madrid.
Meanwhile, Sevilla are still in the hunt for UEFA Champions League spots. A lost could devastate those hopes as only three points separate them from the seventh place on the table.
This will be the fifth time this season the Andalusian and Catalan sides meet.
Team News
Despite a small knock, Lionel Messi has started the last two games for Barcelona. However, he has looked far from his best. Additionally, the Catalans will remain without essential piece in the midfield Arthur and the Spaniard-Brazilian Rafinha.
Ernesto Valverde will also see a possible return of Samuel Umtiti to the lineup after several weeks of no action.
Meanwhile, Pablo Machin and his Sevilla side will be without Nolito and Aleix Vidal. Sergio Escudero will be out after picking up a knock against Lazio. Additionally, Jesus Navas is doubtful for this game.
Possible Lineup
Sevilla possible XI: Vaclik; Gomez, Kjaer, Mercado; Navas, Sarabia, Banega, Vazquez, Escudero; A Silva, Ben Yedder.
Barcelona possible XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Umtiti, Pique, Alba; Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic; Dembele, L Suarez, Messi.
Prediction
Both side come to this game with little firepower in their cannons. Barcelona’s front men, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Messi have not had any luck in front of post. However, they hope to take a turn on that bad streak to take a larger leap into their goal of another league title.
Meanwhile, Sevilla looks to cause problems to the Catalans as the Andalusians have problems of their own. A loss of points could potentially set them out of Champions League slots and sit them all the way down to seventh place should the other teams gain ground.
However, should Valverde decide to rest players against Sevilla, the Seville side have a good chance at coming out with points of this match.
Sevilla 2 – 2 Barcelona
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Photo credit to Penyes Vallès via Flickr
