La Liga

Sevilla vs Barcelona – Match preview and Live stream information

Injury shaken Barcelona side continue their La Liga campaign with a visit to Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where the hosts must improve to succeed.

By Richard Downing

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Game #2 without Messi – that’s the most often mentioned name for this fixture by Barcelona supporters, as Argentine magician remains sidelined. They managed to win midweek Champions League encounter against Bayer Leverkusen only by turning the match around in the last 10 minutes with a stunning strike by Luis Suarez, but many questions still remain over Luis Enrique’s head as how to prepare his team for what will certainly be hard away match. Sevilla, meanwhile, lost to Juventus in a match they never actually got going, and crisis in Unai Emery’s team deepens, even though they finally managed to win in La Liga, defeating Rayo 3-2 in the Round 6 and thus leaving the relegation zone.

Even though Messi is injured, Barcelona have found goals in Luis Suarez – important fact to know is that Uruguay attacker scored in 23 of his 53 official matches played for Barcelona, and out of those 23, Barcelona have won in 22, drawing only in one – against Roma two weeks ago. This season he already scored against Sevilla, with his goals deciding match of the European Super Cup. In La Liga, Suarez scored against Athletic and Las Palmas, taking his account to six goals in total.

Unai Emery answered to the media after match against Juventus, and manager acknowledged that the result in Turin was fair, although he did not see Sevilla as bad as most people did: ‘We have been bad in attack. However, in defence we have taken steps forward, and that is important. We must look ahead and draw conclusions from this match’ he stated.

Also, Emery acknowledged that the team has not begun the match in the way he would like, hoping that could improve against Barcelona: ‘Saturday’s game is exciting. We have to focus on the league.’

Both teams will be missing many important players, as Luis Enrique, together with Messi, cannot count on Douglas, Iniesta, Rafinha and Vermaelen, while Adriano is still doubtful. As for Emery, he knows Barcelona game will be missed by Beto, Carrico, Escudero, Kakuta, Nico Pareja and Adil Rami, while Llorente and Vitolo are doubts for Los Nervionses.

Head to Head:

Statistics

Overall, Sevilla and Barcelona have played 171 matches, with Catalans holding steady dominance in the Head to Head department, with a total of 95 wins. Last season, two sides drew in Sevilla 2-2 with epic Sevilla comeback after early Barcelona lead provided by Messi and Neymar (Banega and Gameiro scored for hosts).

Match facts:

  • The last game between these two sides was the European Supercup, where the Catalans defeated the Andalusians 5-4 with Pedro, who has since left Barcelona, scoring a late winner.
  • The last time Sevilla defeated Barcelona in La Liga was in March 2007; 2-1 with a winning free-kick goal from Dani Alves (D4 L12).
  • This match was also the last occasion that a Barcelona player was sent off against Sevilla. In fact, two players saw red: Giuly and Zambrotta.
  • Last week, Sevilla ended a five game winless streak (D2 L3).
  • With their defeat against Celta, Barcelona ended a 12 game undefeated streak on the road (W11 D1)
  • Yevhen Konoplyanka scored his first goal in an official game for Sevilla in the recent European Supercup against Barcelona.
  • Barcelona have only scored one of their four penalties this season.
  • Sevilla have already scored more goals from free-kicks in all competitions this season (2) than in the whole of last season. One of the goals was scored by Banega in the European Supercup against Barcelona.

Team news:

Sevilla: Injured – Beto, Carrico, Escudero, Kakuta, Nico Pareja, Rami; Doubtful – Llorente, Vitolo.

Barcelona: Messi, Douglas, Iniesta, Rafinha, Vermaelen; Doubtful – Adriano.

Possible lineups:

Sevilla: Sergio Rico; Coke, Andreoli, Kolo, Tremoulinas; N’Zonzi, Krychowiak, Reyes, Vitolo, Iborra; Gameiro.

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Sergi Roberto, Busquets, Rakitic; Munir, Neymar, Suarez.

Sevilla vs Barcelona

Date: 3 Oct 2015

Time: 16:00 CET (15:00 BST)

Venue: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, Spain

Referee: Jesus Gil Manzano, Spain

Last season result: 2-2 (Banega, Gameiro; Messi, Neymar)

TV Info: SuperSport 3 (Africa), LAOLA1.TV (Austria, Germany), SportKlub 1 (Balkans), Radio Barca (International), Fox Sports HD (Italy), C+ Liga Multi, Canal+ Liga / HD, Movistar TV Fútbol (Spain), SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports 2/HD (UK), Fubo TV, beIN Sports en Español (USA).