Xavi on the brink of retirement: How Barça react to the unrest in Sevilla

The traditional duel between Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona on Sunday evening at 9pm marks the end of the 38th matchday in La Liga and thus also the season in Spain’s top flight. For both, it’s all about a clean finish to the season. Barça achieved the minimum target of finishing runners-up last week. However, there is still no peace at the club and coach Xavi Hernandez’s future is extremely unclear. According to media reports, Barça have already met with Hansi Flick, the former national team coach is the hottest candidate to succeed Xavi

Under these potentially aggravating circumstances, Barcelona will have to play their last game of the season, but the Blaugrana are still the favorites at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Seville, as the odds of the online bookmakers show before Sevilla vs Barcelona.

The question is: How stable are Barça in the face of the turbulence behind the scenes – and how motivated is Sevilla FC, who have been rather disinterested of late and where it is already clear that coach Quique Sanchez Flores will play his last game?

Current form, statistics, head-to-head meetings – we take a look at all of this in this preview of the Sevilla vs Barcelona match, including betting odds, predictions, betting tips and team checks for both clubs

Sevilla – Statistics & current form

In contrast to FC Barcelona, the coaching issue at Sevilla FC is practically settled: Just over ten days ago, Quique Sanchez Flores announced his departure at the end of the season and the employment relationship, which only began in December, has now ended by mutual agreement.

Sanchez Flores had taken over Sevilla in fourth-last place in acute fear of relegation with the task of keeping Sevilla in the league and stabilizing it, which the experienced Spaniard has managed to do. Sanchez Flores’ record is nine wins, four draws and nine defeats, but this was clearly not enough to keep him on – it is not entirely clear whether the club or the coach are the driving force behind his departure in the summer. In any case, a fresh start is on the cards, with Las Palmas’ Francisco Javier Garcia Pimienta waiting in the wings

Sanchez Flores leaves Sevilla: home game against Barcelona as a farewell

Sanchez Flores is playing his last game as coach and naturally wants to leave with a win in front of his home crowd. Recently, however, it looked as if Sevilla had run out of steam. The Andalusians have lost all of their last three games.

Given their recent poor performances, Sevilla are clearly the underdogs. If you still believe in a home win in Sanchez Flores’ farewell match, you can get odds from 3.75 to over 4.00 on a home win in the Sevilla vs Barcelona betting tip.

Predicted Sevilla line-up:

Barcelona – Statistics & current form

Sevilla’s form and current state are certainly not exactly terrifying for the visitors from Barcelona. The doubts currently surrounding the dethroned Spanish champions are of an internal nature. Coach Xavi Hernandez is on the verge of leaving – even though he announced his retirement in January and then solemnly declared at the end of April that he would fulfill his contract until 2025 – much to the delight of president Laporta. However, he has now abruptly changed his mind and Hansi Flick has been chosen as Xavi’s successor, according to reports in the Catalan media.

The turmoil surrounding the coach could not leave the team cold either, even if they have recently met their targets: Barcelona won each of their last three games in commanding fashion without conceding a goal to secure the runners-up spot. Second place entitles them to participate in the Spanish Super Cup 2025, which is rewarded with an important financial reward in the millions – a hugely important income for the cash-strapped club

Xavi on the brink of retirement: How is Barça reacting to the unrest in Sevilla?

Despite their recent respectable performances, the question in Sevilla is: How will Barça react on the pitch to the unrest regarding the coach? The Blaugrana are in second place anyway, and losing points would have no consequences in the table. In view of this situation, an away win is not a foregone conclusion. It may therefore be advisable to hedge a bet, for example with the double odds X/2 and under 3.5 goals, which are available at Interwetten at odds of 2.10.

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Predicted Barcelona line-up:

Sevilla – Barcelona head-to-head comparison / H2H record

The role of Barça as favorites quickly becomes clear when looking at the direct comparison and recent results. Barça have won their last four games against Sevilla and have not conceded a single goal.

Sevilla have won just one of their last ten encounters – a semi-final first-leg victory in the 2021 Copa del Rey. It has been some time since the Andalusians last won in the league, with Sevilla last triumphing 2-1 at home in October 2015.

Barcelona are now unbeaten in 16 league games against Sevilla. The overall record in this traditional clash in 159 matches to date is: 88 wins for Barça, 36 wins for Sevilla and 35 draws

Sevilla – Barcelona betting tip

The visitors from Catalonia are of course the favorites, which is mainly due to the weak season and recent form of the home side from Sevilla. In addition, Barcelona have won eight of their last eleven games and, with three wins in a row, have bagged the runners-up spot they were aiming for

However, there are still some question marks ahead of this final game of the season, as it is difficult to predict how the team will react to Xavi’s imminent departure. Can the team free itself from the reports and the unrest? The Blaugrana have been vulnerable away from home a few times this season anyway, failing to win eight of their 18 away games (6 draws, 2 defeats).

Therefore, we prefer to hedge our Sevilla vs Barcelona prediction, factor in a possible draw and bet on the combination: X/2 and under 3.5 goals.