Sevilla vs. Barcelona: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Sevilla's clash with Barcelona will still be a spectacle but a much lesser one than it could have been.
The visitors are ravaged with injury problems, with Thomas Vermaelen, Rafinha, Adriano and Andres Iniesta all missing the game.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, is the most crucial absentee of all, with the Barcelona No. 10 missing what should be the second of eight matches for his side with a knee injury.
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Barcelona's problems have lessened slightly, with Jordi Alba fit to start the match and Claudio Bravo back in the squad after a long lay-off.
In his absence, Marc-Andre ter Stegen has struggled in goal, letting in a total of 17 goals before the end of September.
Last season he managed to concede just 16 in the entire season, as he featured in the Champions League and Copa del Rey competitions, which his club won.
Barcelona B players Juan Camara and Gerard Gumbau have been included in the squad for the match.
But coach Luis Enrique Martinez says he will not blame injuries if anything goes awry for his men at the weekend.
Per Sport, he said:
"I won't use injuries as an excuse. I never hide behind injuries or suspensions. Here we judge things on results. What the media do does not interest me, I have total confidence in my team.
"
Perhaps that's because despite how bad Barcelona's problems are, when it comes to injuries, somehow Sevilla's are worse.
Fernando Llorente and Vitolo are touch and go, while Nico Pareja, Daniel Carrico, Adil Rami, Ever Banega, Gael Kakuta and Beto are among those coach Unai Emery cannot call upon in the game.
The last two clashes between these teams have been interesting, with Barcelona drawing 2-2 at the Pizjuan last season.
Letting in Banega's strike was one of the only mistakes Bravo made last term, and he will be hoping the coach gives him another chance to right that wrong on Saturday afternoon.
And then in August, with Tbilisi, Georgia, as the setting, Barcelona and Sevilla played out a cracking UEFA Super Cup final.
The Catalans beat the Andalusians 5-4, with the now departed Pedro Rodriguez making the killer blow in extra time.
Messi (2), Rafinha and Suarez got the other goals that day, with the latter the only one of those players who can feature for Luis Enrique's side on Saturday.
He has been in fine form this season, one of the few Barcelona players who has pulled their weight so far, with the Blaugrana enduring a mixed start to the campaign.
Sevilla finally picked up their first league win of the season against Rayo Vallecano last week, a welcome boost ahead of welcoming the champions to town.
However, they were beaten comfortably by Juventus in the Champions League after that, going down 2-0 at home.
Barcelona nearly followed suit, but goals from Sergi Roberto and Suarez turned their match against Bayer Leverkusen on its head.
It will be up to the Uruguayan to take up the slack once again, with Neymar looking to help him out, as Barcelona head south.
Date: Saturday, October 3
Time: 4 p.m. CET/3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET)
Venue: Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, Seville
TV Info: beIN SPORTS (USA)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect
Form Lines
Neither team is in particularly good form. Barcelona are still stinging from their 4-1 thrashing by Celta Vigo and haven't kept a clean sheet since August. Sevilla finally ended a run of defeats by beating Rayo as mentioned earlier.
| Sevilla | Barcelona |
| L Juventus 2-0 Sevilla, UCL, 30/09 | W Barcelona 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen (29/09) |
| W Sevilla 3-2 Rayo Vallecano, Liga, 26/09 | W Barcelona 2-1 Las Palmas (26/09) |
| L Las Palmas 2-0 Sevilla, Liga, 23/09 | L Celta Vigo 4-1 Barcelona, Liga (23/09) |
| L Sevilla 1-2 Celta Vigo, Liga, 20/09 | W Barcelona 4-1 Levante, Liga (20/09) |
| W Sevilla 3-0 Borussia M, UCL, 15/09 | D Roma 1-1 Barcelona, UCL, 16/09 |
Predicted Formations
Sevilla's team will depend on whether Llorente is fit to play, but if not, it is likely to be Gameiro leading the way. The severe injuries they have across the board doesn't give Emery much choice in the team he puts out. The fans would like to see Yevhen Konoplyanka given a start, but the coach has been cautious with him so far.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have to decide if they will stick with their 4-3-3 or adapt to reflect the absence of Messi and Iniesta. Munir and Sergi Roberto are the likely replacements in attack and midfield respectively.
Here are the predicted teams:
Sevilla (4-3-2-1): Rico; Coke, Andreolli, Kolodziejczak, Tremoulinas; N'Zonzi, Krychowiak; Reyes, Iborra, Krohn-Dehli; Gameiro.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto; Munir, Suarez, Neymar.
Players to watch
Steven N'Zonzi has had a dramatic start to life in the south of Spain. The Sevilla midfielder was sent off on his La Liga debut but after that has managed to score two goals, against Levante and Rayo Vallecano. With Banega out, N'Zonzi is someone who can score from midfield and someone Barcelona need to be aware of.
For Barcelona, all eyes will be on Neymar. He has been in poor form this season so far, understandable after his bout of mumps at the start of the campaign. With Messi unavailable, the fans are expecting big things from the Brazilian.
Key battle
Sevilla's defence is depleted and Suarez will be relishing the chance to take on Timothee Kolodziejczak. If the Frenchman can't stop the striker, then Barcelona will likely take all three points from the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Sevilla 5.37
FC Barcelona 1.61
Draw 3.81
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