Spanish La Liga
2010-10-30 - Barcelona vs Sevilla
A Sports Betting Pick by FootyGaffa
Not another Barca v Sevilla match..........BARCELONA
It's been a good week for Barcelona, Guardiola had the luxury of resting his top stars for the midweek cup win over Ceuta and also was able to give his fringe players the opportunity to show their worth. The big boost around the Camp Nou is the news that Xavi is fit for the match after having time off to let his tendon problem fully recover. Now that Milito is also back the squad is at full strength apart from Jeffren who dislocated his shoulder over in Africa.
To say that these two teams know each other well would be an understatement, in fact this will be the 7th time the teams have met in 2010, so there should not really be any surprises. Last match saw Barca completely outclass Sevilla winning 4-0 to overcome the 3-1 away leg and claim the Spanish Super cup thanks to another Messi hatrick. On paper they have a better team available for tonights game with Villa, Iniesta and Puyol starting this time.
For me there are a couple of key battles that Barca need to win. Alves will need to keep Perrotti at bay down the wing and Pique and Puyol will need to keep a close eye on the dynamic duo of Kanoute and
especially Fabiano up front, who I am a great admirer of. These two are in great scoring form.
As always the pressure is on Barca as Real Madrid are a point ahead and going well so far in the league, so again anything but a home win is unthinkable.
Possible Barcelona Lineup :
Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa
SEVILLA
Sevilla come into this match with a few personnel problems. Narvarro is suspended, keeper Palop is out and will need to be replaced by Varas for his first start this season. Big defender Fazio is still out and probably the biggest miss, flying winger Navas doesn't look like he will be ready in time to make the team.
So far Sevilla have had a seriously up and down season. The biggest disappointment was missing out on the Champions League with the surprise home defeat to Braga. Since then though they have done well in the Europa cup and will be contenders to win it. They have had the high of beating Barca at home in the cup but then getting thrashed in the return leg. Sevilla have also tasted defeat at Hercules.
Scoring goals has not been a problem of late for Sevilla but they will be worried how easily they are conceding in games. Last week was a prime example, being 3 nil up after an hour and ending up winning only 4-3 albiet after having a man sent off. I think they are really missing the partnership of Escude and Fazio at centre half.
So, I see Sevilla scoring but think that they will not be able to prevent Barcelona from winning the game.
Possible Sevilla lineup :
Varas, Dabo, Escude, Caceres, Konko, Perrotti, Romaric, Renato, Capel, Kanote, Fabiano
HEAD TO HEAD
21/08/2010 Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla - Super Cup
14/08/2010 Sevilla 3-1 Barcelona - Super Cup
08/05/2010 Sevilla 2-3 Barcelona - La Liga
16/01/2010 Barcelona 4-0 Sevilla - La Liga
13/01/2010 Sevilla 0-1 Barcelona - Copa Del Rey
05/01/2010 Barcelona 1-2 Seville - Copa Del Rey
PREDICTION
I expect a tighter game than in recent fixtures and with Barcelona not quite free scoring this term I don't see any value in a Barca outright win given the short odds on offer. A full strength Barcelona at home should win, question is will it be comfortable.
The Pick :
Barcelona 2 Sevilla 1
