After another round of European fixtures during the week, it’s business as usual in Europe’s top divisions this weekend. The Spanish top flight resumes just before the upcoming international break and in one of the biggest fixtures of matchweek 11, Sevilla make the trip to the Nou Camp to face Barcelona. The hosts are yet to lose in the league so far this term and after only dropping two points, they are top of La Liga. The visitors are currently 5^th and can overtake the current holders, Real Madrid, with a win.

STATS

• Barcelona have started the 2017/18 campaign in incredible form and with 28 points from a possible 30, they are already four points clear at the top. Their only draw came away at Atletico which is seen as a good result against one of Europe’s elite. They are averaging almost three goals every match with 28 goals in 10 matches. They eased past Athletic Bilbao in their last game with a 2-0 away win.
• Sevilla have struggled to get a decent run of form going this season and they have already lost three of their 10 fixtures. Losses against Atletico and Valencia were possibly expected but a narrow 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao wasn’t on the cards at all. They were lucky to beat Leganes in their last game as they fought off a storm to hold onto their 2-1 lead.
• Lionel Messi was a player that received quite a lot of stick last season for his deteriorating form but he has proved the doubters wrong with 12 goals in 10 games. The Argentine is currently overshadowing Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Sevilla have been poor in front of goal and with just 11 goals so far, they have failed to find a prolific goal scorer. Wissam Ben Yedder, Ganso and Luis Muriel each have two league goals.

HEAD TO HEAD

There are only a handful of teams that would boast a half-decent record against Barcelona and Sevilla certainly aren’t one of them. They have beaten the Catalan giants just once in La Liga since 2007, a run of 16 matches! Barca have won each of the last four meetings in all competitions and Sevilla have scored just once in those matches. Goals from Messi (2) and Suarez helped Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Sevilla back in April.

SEVILLA NEWS

An unexpected win for Sevilla in this match would not only be great for their position in the table but also for general morale. They are definitely without Daniel Carrico and Nicolas Pareja, while the fitness levels of Gabriel Mercado and Joaquin Correa need to be assessed before the match.

Latest matches: Sevilla FC

01.11.2017	UEFA	Sevilla FC	FC Spartak Moscow	2:1	W
28.10.2017	LaLi	Sevilla FC	CD Leganes	2:1	W
24.10.2017	Copa	FC Cartagena	Sevilla FC	0:3	W
21.10.2017	LaLi	Valencia CF	Sevilla FC	4:0	L
17.10.2017	UEFA	FC Spartak Moscow	Sevilla FC	5:1	L

BARCELONA NEWS

Another three points for Barcelona could quite easily see them extend their lead at the top of the league as the teams below them look incapable of keeping of the pace. They are going to be without Rafinha and Ousmane Dembele for a long period of time while Andre Gomes, Aleix Vidal, Sergi Roberto and Arda Turan won’t be available to face Sevilla.

Latest matches: FC Barcelona

31.10.2017	UEFA	Olympiacos FC	FC Barcelona	0:0	D
28.10.2017	LaLi	Athletic Bilbao	FC Barcelona	0:2	W
24.10.2017	Copa	Real Murcia CF	FC Barcelona	0:3	W
21.10.2017	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Malaga CF	2:0	W
18.10.2017	UEFA	FC Barcelona	Olympiacos FC	3:1	W

SUMMARY

In the imperious form Barcelona are in at the moment, especially in the league, there aren’t many sides in the world that would beat them. Sevilla won’t be expecting to come away from Catalonia with anything against one of Europe’s hottest teams and it could turn out to be quite comfortable for the league leaders. The visitors will find it hard to break them down and may not even score, a clean sheet is a real possibility for Barcelona.