Sevilla vs Barcelona Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Sevilla host Barcelona in La Liga at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in what will be the fifth and final meeting between the two sides this season.
Los Hispalenses suffered a dismal 3-0 defeat away to struggling Villarreal last week but will be confident of bouncing back against the Blaugrana, as their home form has been exceptional during this year's campaign.
Wednesday's 2-0 victory over Lazio in the Europa League, which saw them progress to the last 16 of the tournament was their 16th at home this season in all competitions, and another win at the weekend could see them consolidate fourth position in La Liga.
Barcelona maintained their lead at the top of the standings last week with a 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid yet they were far from convincing at the Camp Nou.
Concerns surrounding the Blaugrana's dip in performance were furthered when Ernesto Valverde's side were unable to secure a vital away goal in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie at Lyon despite having 25 shots on goal.
Nevertheless, a victory over Sevilla at the weekend could see the reigning La Liga champions extend the gap between them and second-placed Atletico Madrid to ten points.
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With both sides needing a victory for different reasons, Saturday's game will undoubtedly be an enthralling encounter.
Check out 90min's preview for the game below.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 23rd February |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 15:15 (BST) |
Where Is it Being Played? | Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium |
TV Channel/LiveStream? | Not Available in UK |
Referee? | TBC |
Team News
Sevilla manager Pablo Machin will be unable to select Nolito for Saturday's clash as the winger continues his recovery from a broken leg whilst defenders Joris Gnagnon and Aleix Vidal are also expected to miss out due to injury.
Central midfielder Roque Mesa will not feature as he serves a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season at Villarreal last week.
Barcelona head to Sevilla without influential midfielder Arthur who is still recovering from a hamstring injury that he suffered earlier this month whilst Jasper Cillessen, Rafinha and Thomas Vermaelen are also ruled out out of the fixture.
Samuel Umtiti however could make his long-awaited return having missed the last 11 La Liga games with a serious knee injury but will face competition for his position in central defence from compatriot Clement Lenglet.
Predicted Lineups
Sevilla | Vaclik; Mercado, Kjaer, Gomez; Promes, Escudero, Sarabia, Vazquez, |
Barcelona | ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Alena; |
Head to Head Record
Saturday's fixture between Sevilla and Barcelona will be the 169th occasion that the two sides have faced each other with the Blaugrana winning 93 of their previous meetings compared to Los Hispalenses' total of 40 wins.
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In the corresponding La Liga clash at the Camp Nou in October, goals from Philippe Coutinho, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic secured a 4-2 win for Ernesto Valverde's side.
Sevilla partially avenged their defeat in January by defeating the Blaugrana 2-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium but where then humiliated by their rivals in the return tie a week later, losing 6-1.
Recent Form
Sevilla have experienced a dismal run of results in La Liga in recent weeks, picking up just five points from a possible eighteen in their last six fixtures.
Last week's defeat on their travels at Villarreal was their ninth game in succession without a victory in the league away from home since beating Eibar in September.
Barcelona's 1-0 victory against Valladolid extended their unbeaten run in La Liga to 11 games yet the manner of their performances in recent weeks have been devoid of the usual attacking football displayed by Valverde's side.
The Blaugrana were also disappointing in their draw away to Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday and will have to address their lack of fluidity correctly if they are to leave Seville with all three points at the weekend.
Here is how both sides have fared in their last five league games:
Sevilla | Barcelona |
Villarreal 3-0 Sevilla (17/02) | Barcelona 1-0 Real Valladolid (16/02) |
Sevilla 2-2 Eibar (10/02) | Athletic Bilbao 0-0 Barcelona (10/02) |
Celta Vigo 1-0 Sevilla (02/02) | Barcelona 2-2 Valencia (02/02) |
Sevilla 5-0 Levante (26/01) | Girona 0-2 Barcelona (27/01) |
Real Madrid 2-0 Sevilla (19/01) | Barcelona 3-1 Leganes (20/01) |
Prediction
With Sevilla needing a positive result to maintain their position in the final Champions League place in La Liga, they will be delighted to be returning to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium where they have won seven of their 11 Spanish top-flight games this season.
In contrast, Barcelona will be wary of the dangers of facing Los Hispalenses on their home patch having lost to them earlier on in the campaign in the Copa del Rey, and will need to improve a recent away record which has seen them win just one of their last five in all competitions.
If the Blaugrana are to take anything back to Catalunya at the weekend, they may have to rely on Messi producing some magic with the Argentine having scored 27 goals against Sevilla during his illustrious career.
In what should be a tight affair on Saturday, both sides will cancel each other out and therefore have to settle for a share of the points in the last of their meetings this season.
Prediction: Sevilla 1-1 Barcelona.
