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The Catalan giants travel to Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday to play Sevilla in a La Liga fixture. Barcelona are unbeaten in La Liga this season and leading the points table with 75 points from 29 games.
After a good start to the season, Sevilla seemed to have lost momentum in recent weeks. They are currently 6th in the La Liga standings with 45 points from 29 games.
Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao at home in their last La Liga game while Sevilla lost their away game to Leganes. Most of the European leagues were given a week's break because of international friendlies.
On that note, let’s take a look at the reasons why Sevilla will beat Barcelona in La Liga this weekend.
#3 Barcelona could be without Messi, Busquets, and Ter Stegen
The Catalan giants could be without 3 of their in-form players for the trip to Sevilla. Sergio Busquets is definitely out while Lionel Messi and Marc-André ter Stegen face a late fitness test. Messi missed Argentina’s 6-1 defeat Spain with a hamstring injury.
Ter Stegen was rested for Germany's game against Brazil on Tuesday and could miss the trip to Sevilla because of a knee problem. Sergio Busquets is still recovering after breaking a bone in his foot during Barcelona's 3-0 win over Chelsea at the Camp Nou.
These 3 players have played a major role for Barcelona this season. Barcelona have the best defensive record in Europe this season, thanks to some stunning saves by Ter Stegen.
Busquets ran the midfield show for Barcelona this season while Messi was ruthless as always. Without these 3, Barcelona might find it hard to beat Sevilla, who managed to beat Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League round of 16.
#2 Many of the Barcelona stars are coming after a hectic international schedule
Most managers don’t like to have international games during the crunch time of a season, but it is inevitable. With the FIFA World Cup 2018 just months away, preparations are in full swing as countries played their best players in the international friendlies that happened during the last few days.
This could play a major role in the tie between Barcelona and Sevilla this weekend. Most of the Barcelona stars played more than 120 minutes in the last few days. Andres Iniesta, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Gerard Piqué, Jordi Alba, and Samuel Umtiti were all involved.
On the other hand, most of the Sevilla stars are having a bit of a breather and will be fresh to take on the Catalan giants on Saturday. Only Simon Kjær, and Ever Banega played around 120 minutes of international football while Wissam Ben Yedder made a brief cameo for France.
#1 Barcelona away form has been patchy off-late
Barcelona away form hasn't been great this season. Though the Catalan giants are unbeaten in La Liga and UEFA Champions League this season, they have drawn 8 games away from home this season.
Also, they have lost a game each in Supercopa de Espana and Copa del Rey against Real Madrid and Espanyol respectively. They went very close to losing a couple more away games but were saved by individual brilliance.
Luis Suarez’s last-gasp equalizer saved them from defeat against Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano while Jordi Alba rescued them against Valencia with an 82nd-minute equalizer. Also, Gerard Pique saved them against Espanyol with a late equalizer to make it 1-1.
