Barcelona Vs Sevilla Tactical Preview

February 23, 2013 

9:00 PM UTC [ IST 2 30 am 24-2-2013]
Camp Nou — Barcelona 
League Round 25 
Referee: Velasco Carballo

Barca, after being stunned by AC Milan faces Sevilla, who under the guidance of their new coach Unai Emery bounced back strongly against Deportivo after a huge defeat against Real Madrid.

The mid week clasico forces Barca to rotate the squad and rest its key players, such as Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Busquets and Alba. The 12 point lead gives them the cushion to experiment new formation, players and  approach. Yougsters Tello, Sergi Roberto, Montoya and Thiago are more likely to get some playing time with Villa and Sanchez expected to start alongside La Pulga. Sevilla faces Atletico in the other Semi Finals of CDR, but an extra day advantage maynot affect fatigue of the players, hence they are likely to start with full strength.

The last clash between the two teams saw Sevilla almost steal away a point before Villa came up with the winner in extra time. Even now, it is expected to be a close encounter as Unai Emery will once more try his luck in defeating Barcelona.

Sevilla's Negredo, Navas and Rakitic are the main threats for the Shaky Barca defense. With Puyol rested, Mascherano is expected to chip in.

Barca's Expected Line up

Sevilla's expected Line up

With the conservative Roura as incharge, one cannot expect a very experimental line up or formation. Cesc and Thiago as CMs with Villa and Sanchez on the flanks and Messi as the False 9 is the expected line up.

Experimental Line up

With the 12 point advantage, risking 3 points will not prove very costly, especially with tough weeks ahead with clasicos and UCL second leg. Yet this fixture cannot be taken lightly because only by winning this Barca's morale will boost up high for the clasicos and other upcoming important matches.

Sevilla will undoubtedly go for a defensive approach and try to utilise counters for scoring through Negredo, Navas and Rakitic. Hence using 3 CBs might resolve the counter attacking threats, and if Adriano goes forward, Song can drop back, hence 3 CBs always. The risk in this formation is the wide space availability for the Sevilla wingers to work on. Thats why the usage of LM and RM through Sergi and Thiago, who are good in tracking back. With the sale of Diego Lopez and Palop injured, Beto will guard the goal for Sevilla.

Up front, Messi should take the winger's role in order to get himself warmed up for the upcoming BUSSES, especially against Milan and league match against Madrid at Bernabeu. The CF role when BUS is used has made him look less effective. Hence if he moves on to RW and attract the defender, it will allow Cesc to slip through or Sanchez and Villa to have space for shooting.

Anyways let me stop my over enthusiasm with experiments here and look at how Roura might approach. Messi as usual is likely to play as false 9 and hopefully he gets back to his scoring form after a significantly poor performance against Milan. With VIlla on left and Sanchez on right the front 3 appears good on paper. Cesc and Thiago as CM are expected to give the necessary passes and Song is likely to fill in Busquet's position. Alba and Alves are also likely to be rested for Clasico, hence Adriano (if fit) and Montoya will take the full back roles.

And a very happy news for Cules - ERIC ABIDAL HAS BEEN DECLARED FIT TO PLAY. It will be a sentimental return for the Frenchman and his fans.

" Following training this morning, Éric Abidal received the wonderful news that he is in good enough condition to play for the first team in what remains of the current season. The French defender underwent a liver transplant on April 10, 2012. It has been a long road to recovery for Abidal ever since. In early October, he went with club physio Emili Ricart to spend several days in the Catalan mountains at Vall d’Aran, where he started following a specific training programme. Two months later, on December 19, he was able to train with the rest of the squad. Abidal has not played for the first team since February 26, 2012 away to Atlético Madrid, when FCB won 2-1." -    reads the official website of Barcelona.


Key Battle - Mascherano vs Negredo - Major responsibilty in defense has to be taken care by Mascherano for Barca, since Pique has played the Mid week Milan clash and is also expected to start for Clasico. The prolific striker should be kept in check in order to keep a clean sheet, which will be the primary focus for Catalans.

Prediction - Should be a close victory for Barcelona, where Barca are unlikely to keep a clean sheet. 2-1 in favor of Barca seems to be a good bet.