Barça v Sevilla Preview; Wednesday April 22, 4:45pm GolTV

By: Anthony | April 21st, 2009

Ah yes, its that time again; it is kind of strange to see all these familiar faces.

Tomorrow we travel to the Camp Nou to take on La Primera leaders Barcelona in a matchup which means so much to both teams. Barça are 3 points ahead of rivals Real Madrid after their lucky win against Getafe today (seems to happen all the time doesn’t it?) and we’re 5 points ahead of fourth place Valencia who are hot on our tails especially after their win over us on the weekend. 3 points tomorrow either way, could make or brake the other team’s season.

There’s not much to say about this match as we’ve gone over it all before but just a few minor notes before tomorrow’s game.

Team News:
Adriano will be out of tomorrow’s match due to his red he picked up at the Mastalla and Andrés Palop will be out of tomorrow’s squad due to his accumulation of yellow’s in the league. This means that Javi Varas (another sensation out of the Cantera) will start between the sticks and Colombian international defender Aquivaldo Mosquera will most likely start at right back.

Barça News:
The Blaugrana will have a full squad at their disposal with the exception of their little Argentine God, and in my opinion the best player in the world – none other than Lionel Messi. There are rumours he will still play even though he did not train but regardless, I doubt this will affect Barça too much because their squad is so packed with skilled players that whomever they decide to play in his place will do a good job.

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I don’t really have much to say about our opponents tomorrow, they’re basically tipped to win every single competition they’re playing in but a win by us in Cataluña could ultimately put quite the pressure on Guardiola and co. in regards to the title race with El Clásico still to be played on May 2.

I have a feel Jiménez will go with the more conservative, defensive lineup to try and counter against Barcelona’s solid midfield play and this will most likely mean Kanouté will start up top on his own. While I usually condemn this boring style of play, going up against a squad like Barça who are probably the strongest in the world right now is a totally different game and like the saying goes “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and so Manolo probably will. If we can contain key figures like Iniesta, Keita, Yaya, Sergi Busquets and Lionel Messi if he indeed does play then we have a chance to grab a cheeky goal and walk out of the Camp Nou with all three points.

The best feeling would be to get a win, not only over the league leaders, but against Seydou Keita and Dani Alves, two former Sevillistas who walked last summer when Del Nido decided the time was right to cash in.

I would love to say that we are going to win by a comfortable margin but realistically I definitely don’t see it happening. A draw is feasible and something I’d be more than content with.