Sevilla vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Barcelona will hope to take a step closer to La Liga's title on Saturday when they take on Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.

The Blaugrana are still unbeaten in Spain's top flight this season with nine games remaining, and seeing out the campaign without being defeated will also be on the players' minds the closer they get to the achievement.

Date: Saturday, March 31

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET

TV: Sky Sports (UK), beIN Sports (USA)

Live Stream: Sky Go, beIN Sports Connect

Team News

According to The Sun's Jim Sheridan, Lionel Messi is under observation after a hamstring injury saw him sit out Argentina's 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Spain, and both Sergio Busquets and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are doubts for the match because of fitness concerns.

Sevilla will be without the suspended Pablo Sarabia for the match but could welcome back Jesus Navas and Daniel Carrico to the side if they're able to recover from muscle and hamstring problems, respectively.

Preview

Barcelona will naturally be hoping to have Messi available for the clash, but it would not be too surprising if they opted not to risk him ahead of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg against Roma on Wednesday.

The talisman has notched 35 goals and 16 assists in 43 appearances this season, so it will be a blow if he does not take part, but Barca recently found themselves without him and managed to come out on top anyway.

Messi was given leave to miss Barca's clash with Malaga earlier this month because of the birth of his third child, but the team nevertheless were able to ease to a 2-0 win. Grup 14's Rafael Hernandez praised the performance:

Travelling to Sevilla would usually be a tricky task even with Messi in the side, but this is hardly a vintage side under Vincenzo Montella.

Despite knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League, the team have had a fairly poor season on the domestic front.

ESPN's David Cartlidge noted as much after they followed up their triumph at Old Trafford with a disappointing result:

Sevilla have shipped five goals in a match on five separate occasions this season, and they'll likely have an eye on their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

Barca have an extra day of recovery ahead of their European tie, which could give them a further edge here as they may be less distracted—they'll be targeting a win on Saturday, with or without Messi.