Sevilla FC aim to end their 14-year winless run away at FC Barcelona

Sevilla FC will travel north to take on FC Barcelona this weekend, however this isn’t a fixture in which the Andalusians have had much success over the years. In fact, they have only defeated Barça away from home seven times ever, with the first win coming in 1934/35. As for Sevilla FC’s last win against Los Azulgranas in Catalonia, that was back in the 2009/10 season when they won the first leg of a Copa del Rey Last 16 tie, back on January 5th 2010. Thanks to goals from Diego Capel and Álvaro Negredo, with Zlatan Ibrahimović scoring one for Barça, Manolo Jiménez’s Sevilla FC side overcame Pep Guardiola’s charges. 

Currently, Hansi Flick’s FC Barcelona sit top of the table and they’ll be favourites in this game, the first one back after the international break. They have a squad packed with quality and have won eight and lost just one of their nine fixtures so far. Key to these results have been Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, who have formed the top-scoring front three in Europe with their 23 goals so far across LALIGA EA SPORTS and Champions League. Lamine Yamal is doubtful, though, having suffered a knock during the international break, yet FC Barcelona have several players making progress in their recoveries, such as Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Dani Olmo and Fermín López. When they are all back, the German coach will have as many as eight players to pick from in the midfield. 

For Sevilla FC, they have moved up to 12th in LALIGA EA SPORTS as they’ve now achieved three wins, three draws and three defeats this season. García Pimienta’s side entered the international break with confidence following their 1-0 win against Real Betis in Matchday 9, courtesy of a Dodi Lukebakio penalty. When the team can defend well and counter-attack efficiently, with the likes of Chidera Ejuke and Lukebakio, they can create a lot of danger in attack. In fact, Ejuke is currently the player with the most dribbles in LALIGA EA SPORTS with 28, even ahead of the likes of Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius. Over the international break, several Sevilla FC players have been away with their national teams, and key defender Loïc Badé also suffered a physical issue over the break. He could yet make it, which would be important for the Andalusian outfit considering Tanguy Nianzou is suspended after his red card in ELGRAN DERBI. 

This FC Barcelona vs Sevilla FC promises to be a great game, not just because of the points at stake but also because of the quality players involved and the history of this duel. There have been many standout players in this game over the years, such as Lionel Messi, who is the top scorer in the history of this fixture with his 38 goals. In total, these clubs have met 160 times in LALIGA EA SPORTS, with 89 wins for FC Barcelona, 36 for Sevilla FC and 35 draws. These are the kinds of matches that can define a season, so nobody wants to miss this one. 

 

Gavi, back in the Barça squad after almost a year out

This weekend’s match will be particularly noteworthy due to the return of Gavi, FC Barcelona’s number ‘6’ who is back in a matchday squad for the first time in almost a year due a serious cruciate ligament injury.

The midfielder returns at a crucial moment for his side, and coach Hansi Flick will be as excited with his return as the fans. The German deepens his options in midfield and is now faced with the tricky decision of whether to reintroduce him to the starting line-up or to do so little-by-little while retaining faith in the players who’ve led Barça to their top of the table start to the LALIGA EA SPORTS season.