Sevilla Midfield Strength Could Help Bridge Gap to Barcelona in UEFA Super Cup

Two of La Liga's finest will do battle on the European stage on Tuesday, with Barcelona and Sevilla ready to face off in the UEFA Super Cup.

With Barcelona defeating Juventus in the Champions League and Sevilla seeing off Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the Europa League, Spanish sides' dominance in European competition has continued, and the strength in depth of the league is clearly visible. That said, there remains a tangible gap between the top three and the rest—or even the top two at times.

Sevilla's summer work will give manager Unai Emery hope that the gap can be lessened at least on a one-off basis, though, and the Super Cup is the perfect opportunity to see if the transfer business, particularly in midfield, can have the desired effect.

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Infographic: Kick-off time Barcelona vs Sevilla, around the world #fcblive [fcb] pic.twitter.com/l0KDZELFS9

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) August 10, 2015"

Summer Strengthening

Sevilla's ability to manipulate the transfer market is well-recognised and lauded; a continuous way of identifying talent for each role means the team always has options in place to immediately replace or upgrade on outgoing players each window.

Aleix Vidal and Carlos Bacca were among the summer departures, bringing in well over £30 million between them, but the incoming business totals less than £25 million—for eight new faces.

Michael Krohn-Dehli and Steven N'Zonzi have arrived to add depth and quality to central midfield, while Yevhen Konoplyanka on a free transfer could turn out to be one of the bargains of the summer in La Liga in terms of price and effectiveness.

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Gael Kakuta is another wide attacking option for the five-man midfield of Emery's regular formation, which now has incredible depth right the way across.

Throw in the defensive captures of Adil Rami and Sergio Escudero, and it's another interesting summer's work from Sevilla. In charge of their transfer work, of course, is sporting director Monchi—who, per RAC1 (h/t Football Espana), says he turned down an offer to move to Tuesday's opponents over the summer.

'Overcoming Differences'

Speaking to UEFA.com, Emery made it clear that he accepted Barcelona are seen as the better team but also indicated his approach was a positive one.

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First of all, we're starting the season knowing we have the chance to win a trophy in our first match. Barcelona are favourites but we will go there with the dream we can spring a surprise. If we beat them, it will boost our confidence and our profile, and give us much-needed impetus for the campaign ahead. 

We have to find ways of reducing the gap between the sides, and when we do, we have to use them to stop Barca. We must approach this tie with the idea of overcoming the differences between the teams.

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Sevilla's midfield arrangement is absolutely key in Emery's attempts to bridge that gap.

The regular trio of last season was Grzegorz Krychowiak as the defensive midfielder, Ever Banega as the schemer in a more advanced role and Vicente Iborra as a shuttling, bombarding all-rounder between the two. The Spaniard improved immeasurably as the season went on and was key to both defensive and offensive aspects of the team.

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That midfield troika boasts a great array of talents; add in the passing and control of Krohn-Dehli and the additional physical presence brought by N'Zonzi—who himself sporadically breaks forward at pace with underrated acclaim—and there are plenty of reasons to think Sevilla can match Barcelona in the central area. Work rate, belief and aggression will be found aplenty, as well as technical excellence.

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Of course, Barcelona's midfield three isn't exactly poor. Xavi might be gone now but Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets made up the core last term and will do so again this season. If one is off their game, perhaps Sevilla's greater presence can make a difference—it certainly did in the league match between the two late last season.

The other midfield area where Sevilla can take hope and inspiration is down the left side; if Konoplyanka takes on that role, he will attack Dani Alves with a pace that even the Brazilian may struggle to deal with. Any opportunity to counter in behind Barcelona's defensive channels will be seized upon, and Sevilla carry a real goal threat from that second line of attack.

Sevilla confirmed, reported by AS (in Spanish), that N'Zonzi's illness means he'll play no part in the game and a reshuffled back line could also pose worries for the Andalusians—making the midfield arrangement even more pivotal.

Singular Worry?

Sevilla must stop Barcelona playing and attacking with freedom; before they even consider winning the game themselves, they have to not lose it. Against Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and whoever else takes to the field alongside them, that'll be no mean feat.

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But they also have to score themselves. The one area of concern of the summer activity must be over Bacca's replacement, Ciro Immobile. The Italian hasn't proved himself anything like a regular scorer over many seasons at club level and didn't have the best of times at Borussia Dortmund last term.

It may be that Kevin Gameiro gets the call instead, a much more like-for-like option with his running of the channels and great pace—not to mention finishing ability—but Sevilla could well miss Bacca the outlet just as much as Bacca the goalscorer.

As Barcelona fight to win every trophy going in the space of a few months and Sevilla hope to continue their European success of recent seasons, Spanish sides continue to give the Super Cup plenty of excitement, talent and relevance.

For Emery and his side, the possibility for silverware and causing an upset will almost certainly lie with balancing and getting the maximum out of his newly strengthened midfield.

Follow @karlmatchett