Will the Catalans prevail in a high-scoring game?
On Tuesday, both teams were in action as part of Matchday 7, and Barcelona and Sevilla now meet as early as Friday in Matchday 8. In the English week in Spain’s La Liga, it’s blow after blow, the teams don’t have much rest time.
Sevilla, however, cut a much better figure than Barça on Tuesday evening, as the Andalusians blew UD Almeria out of the stadium with 5:1 and thus celebrated a small liberation after another sobering and disappointing start to the season.
Barcelona’s visit to Mallorca on Tuesday night went far less well – barely top of the table, Barça fluffed straight away on the holiday island and could not get beyond a 2-2 draw. On Friday evening at 9pm, Barcelona face Sevilla at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, a prediction for a home win is obvious, but the last two games have shown that Barça are vulnerable.
On the way to the championship in La Liga, Barça does not want to drop points for the third time, two draws already tarnish the otherwise successful start to the season so far. Sevilla, however, travel to the Catalan metropolis with fresh self-confidence – so is there a possibility of Barça’s second slip-up within a few days? We take a look at the odds and exciting tips in our preview of Barcelona vs Sevilla.
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
At home against Celta Vigo, FC Barcelona was already shaky – but did not fall. The big favourites were surprisingly and deservedly 2-0 down at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, but a show of strength in the last ten minutes saw the Catalans turn around the game they thought they had lost.
The 3:2 after 0:2 against Celta Vigo should have been a warning, but on Tuesday in Mallorca Barcelona again started unfocused and shaky. The early 0:1 after Marc-André ter Stegen’s misplaced pass was testimony to that, and the 2:1 after the break also saw the defence caught off guard all too easily – although it was the great showpiece in last year’s championship season.
Barcelona’s defence is shaky
Eight goals conceded from seven games speaks a different language this season. In four of seven league games, the defence did not hold tight, most recently conceding two goals against Celta and Mallorca, Villarreal even scored three goals on matchday 2.
At least the offensive is performing well, with 18 goals scored being the best value in the league. In view of these figures and recent performances, Barcelona vs. Sevilla should be bet on goals on both sides or over 2.5 goals.
Despite recent sloppy defensive work, the team around Robert Lewandowski is of course still the clear favourite, as the odds make clear in the Barcelona vs. Sevilla match. This is also due to the hard-to-calculate attack, because apart from Lewandowski (5 goals), Ferran Torres (3 goals), Raphinha (2 goals) and even right-back newcomer Joao Cancelo (2 goals) have also scored goals so far. And Joao Felix is also in good form – he has scored once in La Liga so far, though twice in the Champions League. On Mallorca, only millimetres separated him from another success when he hit the post. So it may be worth waiting for the line-up and then betting on a particular scorer on the Barça side.
Predicted Barcelona line-up:
FC Barcelona (Expected line-up) 4-3-3
Sevilla – Statistics & current form
Sevilla FC also have a goal-scoring collective in their ranks: Youssef En-Nesyri, Erik Lamela and Hertha newcomer Dodi Lukebakio have already scored twice each. Lukebakio’s early goal to make it 2-0 in the interim was particularly noteworthy in the 5-1 demolition. The clear success in the Andalusian derby is good news for Sevilla after a messed-up start to the season and comes just in time for the difficult trip to Barcelona.
It was only their second league win, and Sevilla also disappointed in the Champions League with a 1-1 draw against RC Lens at home in Sanchez Pizjuan. After three defeats at the start of the season – Sevilla were even last in La Liga at one point – the Mendilibar team has now climbed into mid-table at least.
High odds on Sevilla FC winning a point in Barcelona
But there has been no consistency so far, it is hard to say which face Sevilla will show in Barcelona. If Sevilla show the confident face of Tuesday night, something is definitely up for grabs in Barcelona, as much as the Catalans have been wobbling lately.
If you have any faith in the Andalusians, you should definitely take a look at the betting odds available on the visitors to win points before the Barcelona vs Sevilla game.
Predicted Sevilla line-up:
FC Sevilla (Expected line-up) 4-2-3-1
Barcelona – Sevilla Direct comparison / H2H balance
The fact that Sevilla have such high odds is surely also due to the last duels and the historical record between the two teams. Barça have won their last three games in a row (3:0, 3:0, 1:0). The Blaugrana’s last defeat against the Andalusians dates back to the 2015/16 season, meaning Sevilla have been without a win for 15 games, with four defeats in that period.
By the way, Sevilla’s last away win in Barcelona was in 2002 – so it’s been half an eternity. And Sevilla coach Mendilibar’s personal record against Barça also looks very poor. Mendilibar has won only one of 26 games against Barça.
Barcelona – Sevilla Tip
This therefore certainly explains why betting on the home win – in whatever way – is very close for Barcelona against Sevilla. In the normal three-way, however, the home win tip is not lucrative. It gets much more interesting if you garnish the Barça win tip with under/over bets or goals against. After all, the defence has been shaky lately anyway, while Sevilla travels with a 5:1 victory behind them
We therefore believe that Sevilla will end their little misery – three games without scoring against Barça – and give the prediction for Barcelona vs. Sevilla that Barça will win and over 2.5 goals will fall. After all, Sevilla have also conceded goals in four of their six league games and have conceded nine in total.
