Barcelona are looking to bounce back from their midweek draw with Mallorca against Sevilla in a Friday night kick-off at Montjuic.
Sevilla travel to Barcelona fresh from their 5-1 victory against Almeria, and could pose serious problems for Xavi’s side going forward. Barcelona have conceded four times in their last two games, and Xavi has emphasised the need to improve defensively.
Who could start for Barcelona against Sevilla?
Xavi made a number of changes for the draw against Mallorca, and with an away trip to Porto in the Champions League next week, squad management will be important, with a number of players out injured.
Frenkie De Jong and Pedri are still unavailable, but Xavi will likely bring back a few key players who were benched for the trip to Mallorca.
Robert Lewandowski and Jules Kounde were among the players rested midweek, and both are expected to return. Kounde will be facing his former side, and summer signing Inigo Martinez took his place in the midweek game.
Oriol Romeu will likely keep his place despite a disappointing performance, and Xavi is reportedly having doubts about the 32-year-old following his arrival this summer.
Xavi has a number of options at right-wing, but following his goal against Mallorca, Raphinha will be pushing for a start ahead of Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal.
Kounde to face his old side
The 24-year-old was sensational during his time at Sevilla, helping to win the Europa League in 2020 before his £45m move to Barcelona, and he will be facing some familiar faces as his old teammates make the trip.
Kounde had started in every La Liga game this season until the Mallorca game, where Ronald Araujo made his return from injury, and Inigo Martinez made his first start. With the partnership looking shaky at the back, Kounde’s return will be a welcome one.
Joao Cancelo looks set to be rested for the Champions League trip, and this means that Kounde may actually slot in as a right-back next to Araujo.
Barcelona predicted XI vs Sevilla: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Andreas Christensen, Alejandro Balde; Oriol Romeu, Ilkay Gundogan, Gavi; Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Joao Felix.