Barcelona vs. Sevilla – La Liga Clash
Barcelona has started their league campaign very convincingly, with 5 wins and two draws, boasting a goal difference of 18:8. Despite not playing at their home stadium, the Catalans are flawless on their home turf with 3 wins in 3 matches. However, in front of them now stands a tough challenge in the form of Andalusia’s finest. While Sevilla has not been exceptional in the domestic championship so far, they have almost always been a formidable opponent.
Barcelona has recently managed to handle Sevilla successfully, sometimes with ease and sometimes with difficulty, but most of the time emerging as winners. In the last 10 matches, Barcelona has triumphed 6 times, Sevilla only once, and three games ended in a draw. When considering only matches in La Liga, Sevilla hasn’t won against Barcelona in a full 8 years. As mentioned, Sevilla is currently not in good form. The team from southern Spain began the season turbulently, with 2 wins, 3 losses, and one draw, with a goal difference of 11:9, which is currently enough for 11th place in the table. However, it seems that the reigning UEFA Europa League champions are slowly finding their form, as they have been unbeaten in the last three rounds and convincingly defeated Almeria 5-1 in their last match. This convincing victory and Barcelona’s struggles in the last round against the bottom-placed Celta Vigo (they were trailing 2-0 but managed to turn the game around and win 3-2) are setting the stage for an exciting duel.
The hosts will be without De Jong and Pedri, but despite that, Xavi’s team has enough aces up their sleeves and a history of success on their side. On the other hand, Sevilla will have to play much better than they have in any match this season so far. Barcelona is the favorite, but we believe Sevilla can put up a strong fight, regardless of their previous performances.
Prediction: Barcelona 2 – 1 Sevilla
Written by: Mladen Radosavljevic