The chasing duel of the title aspirants in Spain’s La Liga: With leaders Atletico Madrid dropping a few points recently, Sevilla and FC Barcelona still fancy their chances of winning the championship – now they meet in a decisive duel on Saturday afternoon. It is the duel between fourth and third, so the top match of matchday 25 could hardly be more exciting. If we look at the betting odds of the best bookmakers before Sevilla vs. Barcelona, it is not surprising how balanced they are.
Sevilla – Barcelona 27/02/2021 prediction – a draw
There is a lot at stake for both teams on Saturday with regard to the title hopes of the two pursuers. The match is also a delicate one because they will face each other again in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Given the form of both clubs, we expect an enormously close, even match – similar to what happened in the cup a good a fortnight ago. Sevilla won 2:0 because the Andalusians stood well at the back and looked for transitional situations.
So Barça should be warned, it should be similar this time. Since the teams are both in good shape and meet on equal terms, we expect a draw. Therefore, our prediction for Sevilla vs. Barcelona is a draw.
The Barcelona-Sevilla weeks go into the second round. A fortnight ago, these two teams met once before, in the semi-final first leg of the cup, Sevilla won their home match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan with 2:0.
The return match in the Copa is scheduled for Wednesday, but before that they will duel in the league. So within four days, this prestigious duel will take place twice.
Those who believe that Sevilla can win their home match, as they did in the cup, will find odds of 3.20 on average on a home win for Sevilla vs. Barcelona. This would also continue a trend, because: Barça could not win the last three games against Sevilla (0:2, 1:1, 0:0).
Sevilla – Statistics & current form
Barça know only too well from the cup first leg how difficult the match at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan will be and how difficult Sevilla will be to break down.
This is also clear from the home table, which shows Sevilla’s home strength: Only Barça and Atletico Madrid have more points at home than Sevilla, who have only suffered two home defeats this season (eight wins, one draw, two defeats) and have conceded just seven goals.
Sevilla’s defensive bulwark makes attackers despair
The defence is Sevilla’s great strength: Coach Julen Lopetegui’s team has won each of its last five games to nil. Together with Atletico, they have conceded the fewest goals in La Liga (16).
It is therefore quite astonishing that Bwin, for example, the provider tested by Wettbasis, offers odds of 4.25 on a Sevilla vs. Barcelona game to nil. After all, Barça also had a tough time in the Copa recently against the attentive defence of Jules Koundé and Co. and only had one good chance to score in the entire match.
The Andalusians’ form is truly impressive: In the last 13 league games, Sevilla have only lost once (0:2 at Atletico). If we look at all three competitions, league, cup and Champions League, they have conceded only two defeats in the last 21 games – in the top flight they recently lost a quite surprising 2:3 against Borussia Dortmund.
No wonder, then, that Sevilla, in view of their strong form in La Liga, fancy their chances of winning the championship as outsiders. A home win against Barça would be a clear exclamation mark in this respect.
Predicted Sevilla line-up:
Bono – Navas, Koundé, Carlos, Escudero – Fernando, Jordan, Rakitic – Suso, En-Nesyri, Gomez
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
Barça will be more than warned, and for the Catalans, too, the top match on Saturday is a small final for the title. If Barça lose in Sevilla and Atletico win in Villarreal, Barcelona’s championship dreams are more or less over with an eight-point deficit – also because Atleti still have a game in hand and Barça would then be in fourth place behind Sevilla and Real Madrid.
So there is a lot at stake for Messi and Co. on Saturday. A damper on the title race was the 1-1 draw against Cadiz last weekend, when Barça needlessly gave away two points against a harmless opponent with a penalty in the 90th minute.
At least Barcelona fulfilled their duty during the week in the catch-up game against Elche and won 3-0, thereby tanking a little self-confidence before the key game against Sevilla. This will also be bitterly needed to crack Sevilla’s defence.
Barcelona with strong series in La Liga
Even if Barcelona’s series in La Liga continues to be impressive – Barça have not lost 14 league games in a row and have won eleven of them – Messi and Co. were not exactly brimming with self-confidence recently against promoted Cadiz and Elche. The 1:4 in the Champions League against PSG in the first leg of the last 16 has left its mark.
But in the league they have not given up hope of winning the championship: Apart from three avoidable home slip-ups against Valencia (2:2), Eibar (1:1) and just now against Cadiz (1:1) during this run, Barça has won everything recently. And yet the three unnecessary draws ensured that they are still five points behind leaders Atletico. But this also shows that no matter how shaky the Catalans present themselves from time to time, they are enormously difficult to beat.
In view of this, we consider the double chance X2 bet on Sevilla vs. Barcelona to be the obvious choice.
Predicted Barcelona line-up:
Ter Stegen – Dest, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba – Busquets, De Jong, Pedri – Dembélé, Messi, Griezmann
