Barcelona vs Sevilla
Barcelona can widen their advantage in the La Liga standings when they host Sevilla on Sunday at Camp Nou.
With 50 points, Barcelona are five points clear of El Clasico rivals Real Madrid. However, with half a season to go, they cannot be complacent since there’s still time for others to catch up.
The Blaugrana are set to take on an improved Sevilla side, who have started climbing the table because of their recent stretch of La Liga 2023 results. The Andalusian outfit is in 13th place with 21 points, which is still miles away from the European spots.
Barcelona are fresh from a 2-1 win against Real Betis on Thursday, while Sevilla won convincingly against bottom feeders Elche with a 3-0 clean sheet last Sunday.
Talking Points
Can Barcelona hit the century mark?
Barcelona have been relentless in recent weeks, and they will look to make it 10 wins in a row across all competitions on Sunday. They have already gathered 50 points halfway through the 2022-23 campaign, which is a great sign as far as their La Liga title hopes are concerned.
On the previous five occasions with this tally after the first 19 matches, Barcelona ended up winning the title in 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13, and 2017-18, only failing to do so in 2013-14 (2nd behind Atletico Madrid).
This means that they’re also on track for 100 points. Only two other teams have hit the century mark in La Liga: Real Madrid in 2011-12 and Barcelona in 2012-13.
A key ingredient to their recent success has been their rock-solid defence, since no opponent has scored against them in their last five outings.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen is in the form of his life, and if it weren’t for Jules Kounde’s own goal against Real Betis on Thursday, Barcelona could’ve had five consecutive clean sheets across all competitions.
On the other side of the pitch, Barca fans are also happy to see Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski back on the scoresheet against Los Verdiblancos. They haven’t scored in their previous three matches, so this should give them a shot in the arm.
Ousmane Dembele is sidelined until the end of February due to a thigh strain, so Raphinha and Lewy will be tasked with continuing to produce goals alongside Gavi and Pedri.
Sevilla improving under Sampaoli
Jorge Sampaoli is finally getting the results he wants for Sevilla, as they’ve won three of their last four league games to kick off 2023 after failing to win any of their previous six (D3, L3). Because of this, they’ve escaped the relegation scrap in the meantime.
Youssef En-Nesyri has been a huge reason why they’re doing better. Since their magical run in the World Cup, the Moroccan forward has already netted six goals across all competitions to top the team’s scoring charts.
Sevilla have an easier schedule ahead after this game against Barcelona, so they should continue to improve and move up a few more places in the standings, especially with players of the quality of Ivan Rakitic, Jesus Navas, Rafa Mir, Youssef En-Nesyri, and Thomas Delanay in the side.
History
The head-to-heads between Barcelona and Sevilla have been rather one-sided in recent years, as the hosts haven’t lost any of their last 14 league games against the visitors (W10, D4). Sevilla’s last win against Barcelona was a 1-0 result back in October 2015.
Furthermore, Sevilla haven’t won in any of their last 19 visits to Camp Nou (D3, L16), with their last victory there coming in December 2002 (3-0) when Xavi was still a player back then.
Barcelona have scored in each of their last 18 league matches (39 goals), which is their best run under Xavi and their best in the competition since a stretch between November 2020 and May 2021 under Ronald Koeman (26 games, 65 goals).
Betting Tip
The SBOTOP La Liga 2023 odds have Barcelona as the favourites for this game. Xavi’s men are priced at 1.30 to win, while Sevilla are the huge underdogs at 10.00, and chances for a draw are pegged at 5.00 in the 1X2 market.
Barcelona have been one of the in-form teams in Europe. Xavi has it all going for him with a big enough squad to choose from, and it helps that they have home advantage.
Sevilla will look to put up a fight, and this match will help them gauge how far they’ve come in these past few weeks, but they don’t have enough firepower to neutralise Barcelona.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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