Barcelona travel to face Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, aiming to overcome a difficult spell of form by their high standards.
Lionel Messi & Co. were unable to find a way to break through Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday and have now won only one of their last five matches, albeit drawing the other four.
Sevilla, meanwhile, are in equally uncertain form domestically but remain in the battle to finish in the top four and seal a place in Europe’s premier club competition next season, having progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League this time around with a 2-0 midweek win over Lazio.
| Game | Sevilla vs Barcelona |
| Date | Saturday, February 23 |
| Time | 3:15pm GMT / 10:15am ET |
| Stream (US only) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| beIN Sports / beIN Sports en Espanol | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will not be broadcast.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Sevilla squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Soriano, Vaclik |
| Defenders | Gomez, Kjaer, Wober, Carrico, Mercado, Escudero, Arana, Gnagnon |
| Midfielders | Amadou, Banega, Vidal, Navas, Sarabia, Vazquez, Mesa, Gonalons |
| Forwards | Promes, Ben Yedder, Andre Silva, Munir |
Sevilla have plenty of knocks to worry them ahead of the visit of Barcelona, with Sergi Escudero and Nolito ruled out.
Munir El Haddadi is liable to be on the bench against his former team.
Confirmed Sevilla starting XI: Vaclik; Marcado, Kjaer, Gomez; Navas, Banega, Rog, Sarabia, Wober; Ben Yedder, Promes
| Position | Barcelona squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ter Stegen, Pena |
| Defenders | Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Miranda, Gonzalez, Chumi, Umtiti, Murillo, Vermaelen |
| Midfielders | Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal, Boateng, Alena |
| Forwards | Messi, Suarez, Coutinho, Malcom, Dembele |
Barcelona are without the now-familiar trio of Jesper Cillessen, Rafinha and Arthur Melo.
Confirmed Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Vidal, Rakitic, Messi, Suarez, Coutinho
Betting & Match Odds
Barcelona are favourites to win, with odds of 19/20 at Bet365. Sevilla are a 5/2 shot, while a draw is priced at 3/1.
Match Preview
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Barcelona may hold a seven-point advantage at the summit of the Primera Division, but they are well aware how dangerous Sevilla can be.
The side that sit fourth in the standings threatened to knock them out of the Copa del Rey by winning the first leg of their quarter-final clash 2-0 in Andalucia and it required a barnstorming performance at Camp Nou for Ernesto Valverde’s men to turn things around. They may have won that match 6-1, but they have not hit such an exceptional standard since.
Indeed, the Catalans boast only one win in five games since that clash, albeit negotiating a series of tricky fixtures with draws.
Still, their 0-0 stalemate against Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday proved that they are not at their sharpest, particularly in front of goal, where Luis Suarez was guilty of missing a string of opportunities.
“Football is a matter of success. If the opposition wastes occasions I get nervous; if we waste them, it only bothers me,” Valverde commented on his side after a result he was not entirely contented by.
“The tie is in the air, 0-0 is a dangerous result, we will not kid ourselves.”
At the weekend, the focus can turn back towards the league, in which they have a healthy, though not decisive lead over Atletico Madrid.
It marks the latest leg of a crucial period of the season, in which Barca face a string of key games. In the coming three weeks, they will face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the league and cup, followed by the return fixture with Lyon.
Sevilla, meanwhile, are hopeful that their 2-0 midweek win over Lazio can generate some forward momentum that entirely evaporated after their evisceration at the hands of Barca on January 30.
A 3-0 loss to Villarreal last weekend put them on the verge of freefall, but head coach Pablo Machin believes that progress in Europe will give the squad a lift.
“The team came through with determination and without speculating,” he celebrated after his team set a new record for 18 two-legged European knockout ties won in succession.
Sevilla’s victory came at a physical cost. Not only did they finish the match tired, they lost Sergio Escudero due to injury, both factors that will count against them at the weekend.
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