La Liga: Sevilla vs Barcelona Live
Preview: Sevilla vs Barcelona
Xavi’s final match as Barca’s coach will be Sevilla vs Barcelona, which will take place on Sunday at 7:00pm at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. It was revealed earlier in the week that he will be departing at the end of the season. Barcelona has already clinched a second-place finish, while Sevilla will conclude the season in the lower half of the standings.
Sevilla does not have much at stake in this match, as they could potentially match their 12th-place finish from last season. However, this would still be their worst La Liga finish since the 1999/00 season, indicating another disappointing campaign. To achieve this position in the table, they would need to break a three-game losing streak and secure a win in their last match. Despite this, Sevilla has shown impressive recent home form, winning four of their last six games at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, with two losses.
Barca’s 3-0 win against Rayo Vallecano in the previous game secured their spot in the upcoming Spanish Super Cup, as they aim to finish the season with four consecutive victories, marking their ninth win in 11 top-flight matches (with two losses). However, all of these accomplishments are overshadowed by the recent news that Xavi has been informed by the club that he will not continue as coach next season, despite his initial change of heart following his initial desire to depart. This upcoming match now serves as a farewell game for the club legend, with Hansi Flick poised to take over as Barcelona’s manager in the next season.
Head-to-head
Barcelona has been the stronger team in the history of their matches against Sevilla. They have won six and drawn one of their last seven encounters. In September of last year, Barcelona narrowly defeated Sevilla 1-0.
Prediction
The away side has kept nine clean sheets in their last 12 La Liga games, which is the same number they achieved in their previous 30 matches. They are expected to have 10 clean sheets in 13 games by the end of Sunday. Despite being plagued by injuries and finishing the season weakly, Sevilla is unlikely to pose much of a challenge against Barcelona, who are in good form and are set to give Xavi a fitting farewell.
