Barcelona vs Sevilla: Like a Clasico

Setting aside Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, if there is one team that Barcelona have repeatedly come across in the fight for titles in recent years, it is Sevilla. Five of the last ten encounters between the Catalans and Andalusians have been in finals, which speaks volumes of how competitive Sevilla are even though they inevitably tend to be defeated by Los Cules.
 Saturday night's clash is not a final, however it is an important battle in the race for the title, despite coming so early in the season.Sevilla headed into the international break at the top of the league after another Barcelona slip up and three more points in Catalonia could see them become outright leaders.The Blaugrana will look to end an unprecedented run of poor results under Ernesto Valverde and they have everything in their favour: home advantage, their crowd and in Lionel Messi, a player who loves playing and scoring against Sevilla.
After an unusual international break which saw them keep most of their players at home, Barcelona will want to rediscover their form and play with the consistency and confidence that has served them so well in Europe this season.As Valverde himself pointed out in a press conference, the Catalan club have only won the Champions League when they have won LaLiga Santander. Therefore, getting back to their best domestically is vitally important for Barcelona.The best news for Los Cules and the worst news for Los Nervionenses is that Messi is well rested and more determined than ever. The main doubt is whether Valverde will play his Brazilians, Arthur and Philippe Coutinho - who have just returned from disputing two matches in Saudi Arabia - or if he will rotate his line-up in order to keep fresh legs Wednesday's clash with Inter and El Clasico next weekend.Barcelona face a Sevilla side who are bursting with confidence thanks to four consecutive league wins, which has seen them rise to the top of the table, as the usual heavyweights suffer setback after setback.Pablo Machin has put together a team that works, playing ultra-attacking football which is based around good passing in the middle and decisive play up front.He will stick to his principles at the Camp Nou in a bid to make a statement to the league.Sevilla will need Ever Banega, Franco Vazquez and Pablo Sarabia to maintain their form no matter how risky it is to play all three. Barcelona will dominate the ball and so the Andalusian artists will have to run more than normal, although that is something they have proved to be capable of in the past. Sevilla will stick to their 3-5-2 formation and their approach will either end in glory or despair at the Camp Nou.It is sure to be another classic battle, which will determine how serious Sevilla's title credentials are, ahead of El Clasico next weekend.