Barcelona vs Sevilla

La Liga pacesetters Barcelona return to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys after the international break to host Sevilla in a handsomely-looking fixture.

Barcelona’s quest to dethrone defending La Liga champions Real Madrid has been off to a flyer, with ‘Los Blaugranas’ heading into the international break at the table’s summit after claiming eight wins in nine league matches this season (L1). Robert Lewandowski’s first-half hat-trick inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 win at Deportivo Alaves last time out, helping them bounce back from a dismal 4-2 defeat at Osasuna. Hansi Flick’s charges have grown accustomed to emphatic scorelines, with four of their last five La Liga victories coming via multi-goal margins. Another success is on the cards, considering the hosts haven’t lost 17 consecutive top-flight H2Hs against Sevilla (W13, D4), including three successive home triumphs ‘to nil,’ which has been the case in their last three competitive triumphs on home turf.

On the other hand, October’s international break couldn’t have come at a worse moment for Sevilla as a 1-0 derby home win against Betis right before the halt extended their unbeaten league run to three matches (W2, D1). However, the visitors have struggled on their travels this season, going winless in all four away league games (D3, L1), largely thanks to their uneventful frontline. Garcia Pimienta’s men have only scored twice on their last three top-flight road trips, with both strikes arriving beyond the 80th minute. Another winless outing would see Pimienta become only the second Sevilla manager after Unai Emery to fail to win their first five top-flight away matches in charge.