In-form Barcelona will return to La Liga action this Sunday when they welcome Sevilla to Nou Camp for the 30th Round of the 2021/22 La Liga season.
Venue: Camp Nou (Barcelona)
Key Statistics
Barcelona are on a five-game-winning run in the league after scoring nearly a third of their LL goals in that stint.
The hosts have won each of their last four La Liga games at home, scoring 15 goals in the process.
Barcelona are unbeaten in the last 18 LL home H2Hs against opponents Sevilla (W15, D3).
The visitors have the league’s best current unbeaten run (W7, D8) ahead of this trip.
But they are winless in their last eight away games in all competitions (D5, L3).
Head to head
Barcelona have been dominant in this fixture, winning eight of the last 15 head-to-head meetings between both sides, losing twice. (D4)
Latest performances in all competitions
Barcelona: W-W-W-D-W
Sevilla; D-L-D-W-D
Barcelona
Barcelona return to action in form, having last tasted defeat in over two months. Their last action before the international was an El Clasico 0-4 win against Real Madrid,.with a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and goals from Ronald Araujo and Ferran Torres.
Heading into this encounter, the Catalan club currently trail Sevilla by three points, albeit with a game in hand. Xavi’s men are perfectly poised to overtake the Andalusian club with a win on Sunday night, having played a draw in the reverse fixture back in December.
Upon taking up the reins at Barca, Xavi Hernadez was tasked with getting the team back to the top. With that objective being met already, the Catalan coach will be keen to consolidate on his top-four place and cut down the gap on the top spot as they chase an unlikely title.
Xavi welcomed some good news over the weekend with club jewel Ansu Fati returning to full training. Albeit, his return will be of little significance to this encounter, as Barcelona are spoilt with options upfront. Therefore, the youngster won’t take any part in the game. The other injury concerns remain Sergino Dest, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti. Otherwise, Xavi has all his first-team players to select from.
Possible Barcelona starting line-up
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres.
Injured: Ansu Fati, Sergino Dest, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Sevilla
Sevilla travel to Camp Nou off the back of a disappointing run of games. The Andalusian club were dumped out of the Europa League by West Ham and followed that up with a home draw against Real Sociedad, where they failed to register a single shot on target.
Their record of one win in their last five games indicates that all is not well at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.
The host’s woes in front of goal has been a well-documented tale this season. Julen Lopetegui’s team has the worst goal return among the teams in the top five. Two goals in their last five games across all competitions will be a cause for concern for the Spanish tactician,
However, what his team have lacked in attack, they have made up for it defensively as they boast the best defensive record among their top five tiers. Their defensive rigidity will come in handy against Xavi’s free-scoring team, who have 12 goals in their last five matches.
Sevilla are on the brink of blowing their early-season promise unless there is a much-needed turnaround in form. With a host of injured players which includes Sevilla’s highest goal scorer Rafa Mir, Argentine duo Papu Gomes and Javier Acuna, Julen Lopetegui faces a daunting task ahead, as the season approaches its closing stages.
Possible Sevilla starting line-up
Bono; Jesus Navas, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Marcos Acuña; Fernando, Ivan Rakitić, Alejandro Gómez, Youssef En-Nesyri; Erik Lamela, Anthony Martial.
Injured: Marcos Acuna, Diego Carlos, Rafael Mir, Papu Gomez, Fernando Reges, Karim Kirkik, Suso
Doubtful: Thomas Delaney
Suspended: None
Prediction
Barca 3-1 Sevilla
