Facing off against Sevilla twice in the next five days makes the La Liga version of the match-up seem like the undercard, but that’s not necessarily the case. One could argue that the Copa de Rey is the trophy that is most likely, but a 2-0 deficit must be overturned first. In La Liga, Sevilla and Barcelona are favorites to claim the third and fourth place spots in the table in either order. Yet, three points for either of these teams puts a bit more pressure on the Madrid sides sitting directly above them.
For Ronald Koeman and Julen Lopetegui, the first match-up may be a chance to try a few things and rely on the talent of your players to get a result instead of overcomplicating things with tactics. For Barcelona, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembélé could come back into the starting line-up, but it also wouldn’t be the craziest thing to see Martin Braithwaite’s second half performance against Elche rewarded with a start.
Braithwaite worked well with Messi against Elche, and Sevilla is a team where Messi only needs a little help to put the ball in the back of the net. While he didn’t score a few weeks ago in the 2-0 loss, he has scored 37 goals against the Andalusians. That’s more goals than against any other side. He also has 18 assists in the fixture.
Of those 37 goals, nine of them came via hat-trick. Messi’s most recent three goal outing against Sevilla was in the spring of 2019 down in the south of Spain. He also had an assist in that game.
The biggest question for the Barcelona manager will be concerning Ronald Araújo. It’s no secret that the 21-year-old centre-back would be an important addition to the line-up. It’s better to have him fully fit for the Copa del Rey fixture, so expect the Uruguayan to feature off the bench unless he is 100% fit. Clement Lenglet, meanwhile, should be expected to return to the starting XI against his former side after getting rotated in place of Samuel Umtiti against Elche.
The other decision for the manager to make will be with Ilaix Moriba. With Miralem Pjanic left out of the squad due to a knock, the 18-year-old was selected to the squad in his place. This could potentially make him unavailable for Barcelona B’s match on Sunday against Lleida. If he doesn’t feature against Sevilla, than it’s possible that he could still suit up for Francisco Pimienta the next day.
It would be a tough task for Ilaix Moriba, who so far has played for the first team against Cornella in the Copa del Rey and Deportivo Alavés in La Liga. Sevilla would be a noticeable jump in quality.
On the other bench, Julen Lopetegui has his side playing well at the right time. Though they faltered in the first leg of their Champions League tie against Borussia Dortmund, they are coming off six straight wins in La Liga.
Most recently, Sevilla collected a 2-0 win over Osasuna with a heavily rotated side. Youssef En-Nesyri, who still leads his team with 13 goals, was on the bench alongside Ivan Rakitic and some of the other usual starters. It’s probably wise to assume that Lopetegui will go with a very similar but maybe not exactly the same starting line-up that featured a few weeks ago.
Expected line-ups:
Barcelona (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Alba, Lenglet, Pique, Dest; Busquets, de Jong, Pedri; Griezmann, Messi, Dembélé
Sevilla (4-3-3): Bono; Escudero, Diego Carlos, Koundé, Vidal; Jordán, Fernando, Rakitic; Oscar, En-Nesyri, Suso
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
