Sevilla vs Barcelona
Sevilla have taken Barcelona’s usual spot as one of the top two title contenders in La Liga this season. The Rojiblancos are the closest competitors to runaway leaders Real Madrid and are five points adrift of Los Blancos.
Sevilla will look to keep pace with Real at the top of the table when they welcome Barcelona to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan this midweek.
The Catalans are coming off a hard-fought win over relegation strugglers Elche and are still dealing with a massive injury crisis that has tilted the La Liga 2021 betting odds in the hosts’ favour.
Talking Points
Sevilla trying to stay with Real at the top
Sevilla are doing their best to keep this season’s La Liga title race interesting. Since their loss to Real Madrid, they have won three games in a row in La Liga against three tough opponents in Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, and most recently, reigning champions Atletico Madrid.
Julen Lopetegui’s side has been rock-solid at the back all season. They still share the best defensive record in the league with only 12 goals conceded in 17 games.
Thomas Delaney has come in and done a solid job in defensive midfield over the last couple of games and even hit the woodwork against Atleti. Although, veteran Fernando will be back from suspension and could reclaim his role at the heart of the midfield.
Meanwhile, Lucas Ocampos continues to rediscover the brilliant goalscoring form he showed a couple of seasons ago. The Argentine attacker scored the crucial late winner against Atleti, which is his fifth goal in his last nine appearances. He has also added two assists during that time.
Ocampos will continue to lead the Sevilla attack in the absence of top striker Youssef En-Nesyri, who is getting closer to full fitness. Rafa Mir only came on as a substitute against Atleti but should return to the starting XI against Barca.
Sevilla have a spectacular home record thus far this season. They are still undefeated with seven wins in eight La Liga games at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
Barca still significantly banged up
Barcelona’s bad run of three consecutive games without a win finally came to an end as they just barely beat relegation strugglers Elche 3-2 at home. Barca quickly squandered a two-goal lead in the second half, but a late goal from Nicolas Gonzalez claimed all three points for the Catalans.
The 19-year-old Gonzalez and 17-year-old Gavi continue to get significant playing time as Barca coach Xavi deals with an injury crisis in attack, and the two teenagers are certainly stepping up to the challenge by providing their share of La Liga 2021 highlights. Gonzalez has scored in each of his last two games, while Gavi has a goal and two assists in his last two.
Ferran Jutgla also got his first goal in his first career start, while 20-year-old Abdessamad Ezzalzouli continues to impress.
Barca still have Memphis Depay, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, and Pedri all out due to injuries, so the likes of Gonzalez, Gavi, Jutgla and Ezzalzouli will likely continue to play starring roles against Sevilla.
In defence, Jordi Alba is getting closer to a return, while veteran centre-back Gerard Pique will be back from suspension.
However, it remains to be seen whether they can help improve Barca’s woeful away record. The Catalans have won just one of their seven La Liga matches outside the Camp Nou, with two defeats and four draws.
History
Barcelona have dominated Sevilla in La Liga over the years. The Catalans have an overwhelming 20-2 edge in terms of wins, with seven draws in their last 29 league meetings.
Barca have gone 11 games unbeaten against Sevilla in the league, with eight wins and three draws. Sevilla’s last win against Barca came in 2015.
Sevilla held Barcelona to a 1-1 at the Camp Nou then won the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie 2-0 at home. However, Barca got their revenge by winning the reverse fixture at the Sanchez Pizjuan 2-0 thanks to goals from Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi. They then thumped Sevilla 3-0 in the Copa del Rey second leg to advance to the final.
Betting Tip
 |
 | Sevilla vs Barcelona | 1X2 Sevilla @ 2.31 |
| December 22, 4:30 (GMT+8) |
Despite Sevilla’s superb form and Barcelona’s mounting problems, the home side are still priced at just 2.31 to beat Barca, who are at 3.05. Meanwhile, a draw is at 3.25.
While Barcelona are still quite a dangerous side on their day, Sevilla are just so strong at home that it’s hard to see them slipping up against a young and inexperienced Barca side.
Look for Sevilla to extend their current La Liga winning streak to four games at the expense of the Catalans.
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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