Sevilla puts the culé euphoria to the test
Barça aspires to snatch the second position of LaLiga from Lopetegui’s men on their return to the Camp Nou after the ecstasy of the Clásico
MADRID, 2 Apr. (SportsFinding) –
FC Barcelona will seek this Sunday at the Camp Nou (9:00 p.m./Movistar LaLiga) to attack the second position of LaLiga Santander against its current owner, Sevilla FC, a duel in which the azulgranas hope to take advantage of the emotional boost of the victory in the Classic to delve into Nervion doubts of recent weeks.
The azulgranas arrive at a key date perhaps at the best moment of the season. The 0-4 score before the break at the Santiago Bernabéu endorsed the flourishing of a new Barça, which has been forging since Xavi Hernández arrived on the bench last November. “We are back”, warned Gerard Piqué after the victory.
This is attested to by a new historic win in the Madrid fiefdom and, above all, the sensations; with personality, intensity, dominance and a forcefulness that only dropped in the second half, the culé team sealed its fifth consecutive league victory -with 18 goals in favor and only two against- to stay, with 54 points, 12 behind the leader -with one game less than the madridistas-.
The title seems almost a chimera, although not impossible, but what the Catalan team does have within reach is second place, which is precisely what their rival this Sunday holds with 57 units. A victory at home, added to the 1-1 in the first round at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, would give Xavi’s men the privileged position.
Now, he clings to the atmosphere of the Camp Nou, where he has not lost in LaLiga Santander since December 4 -against Real Betis (0-1)- to seek the miracle with nine games to go. To do this, they need Carlo Ancelotti’s men not to get three wins between now and the end of the season.
To the casualties of the injured Sergiño Dest, Ansu Fati -who is already training with his teammates-, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti and Moussa Wague, the Blaugrana team will add that of the Dutch striker Luuk de Jong, who this Saturday tested positive for coronavirus and He will not be able to measure himself with his former team.
Regarding the eleven at the Bernabéu, Xavi could incorporate the Brazilian side Dani Alves -who is not registered in the Europa League and will not be able to play on Thursday against Eintracht Frankfurt- to complete a defensive line in which Jordi Alba will occupy the other band and in the one that Gerard Hammered and Ronald Araujo will form like pair of head offices.
In addition to the unquestionable Marc-André Ter Stegen in goal, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will accompany Busquets in midfield, while Dembélé, Aubameyang and Ferran Torres could be the Barça coach’s bet up front.
Opposite, Sevilla has been hesitant for a few weeks, in which it has been dropped from its fetish competition, the Europa League, against English West Ham, and in which it has weakened in the domestic championship. In fact, they have drawn their last three league games against Deportivo Alavés (0-0), Rayo Vallecano (1-1) and Real Sociedad (0-0), which has made them lose the trail of Real Madrid, now nine points above his 57.
Although they have not fallen in LaLiga since they did it at the end of November at the Bernabéu (2-1), Julen Lopetegui’s men get muddy away from home; Their visit to Cádiz in their first game of 2022 was the last time they celebrated a victory away from Pizjuán, and since then they have accumulated five draws.
In spite of everything, the Nervionenses cling to their status as the team with the fewest goals in the category (19) to try to surprise Barça in a game in which the Basque coach could add two new casualties to the already known Suso Fernández and Ferdinand Reges.
That of the Danish midfielder Thomas Delaney, who arrived injured from the national team break, is certain, while goalkeeper Bono is doubtful after suffering a blow to the head with Morocco that even caused him to be admitted; Serbian Marko Dmitrovic will replace the African goalkeeper if Lopetegui finally decides to rest him. In addition, the Argentines ‘Papu’ Gómez and Marcos Acuña, injured, could also miss the game.
DATASHEET.
–POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Alves, Piqué, Araujo, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri; Dembélé, Aubameyang and Ferran Torres.
SEVILLE FC: Bonus; Jesus Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Augustinsson; Rakitic, Gudelj, Joan Jordan; Corona, En-Nesyri and Ocampos.
–REFEREE: Sánchez Martínez (C.Murciano).
–STADIO: Camp Nou.
–TIME: 9:00 p.m./Movistar LaLiga.