Ronald Koeman leaves Antoine Griezmann outside the Barcelona starting eleven against Sevilla on Saturday. The coach of the Spanish top club appears to be opting for a 3-5-2 line-up with three central defenders, and Sergiño Dest and Jordi Alba as attacking wingers. The game in the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuan starts at 4.15 p.m.
Koeman opts for three central defenders: Óscar Mingueza, Gerard Piqué and Clément Lenglet. In addition, Dest and Alba are also part of the starting elf. No surprises in midfield: Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets and Pedri. Koeman does not have access to the injured Miralem Pjanic, who is struggling with complaints to the right ankle, and the already injured Philippe Coutinho, Sergi Roberto and Ansu Fati. Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembélé are on the attack.
Koeman’s hopes are also pinned on a glorious performance by Messi, as Sevilla is the Argentine’s favorite opponent: 37 goals and 16 assists in 41 duels in all competitions. The top scorer of La Liga, eighteen goals, has also scored at least one goal seven match days in a row. Not unimportant: Messi did not score in each of his last three matches against Sevilla and Jules Koundé played in each of these duels.
Barcelona currently has two points more than Sevilla (50 at 48), which has a duel less in its legs: 23 at 24. The first four teams in the ranking will qualify for the group stage of the Champions League at the end of the stage. . The Andalusians’ lead on number five Real Sociedad is seven points and also with one match less. Next Wednesday, Barcelona and Seville will face each other again in the second semifinal in the Copa del Rey. Then Julen Lopetegui’s team defends the 2-0 victory in the Camp Nou in the first game.
Setup Sevilla: Bono; Navas, Koundé, Diego Carlos, Escudero; Fernando, Jordán, Rakitic; El Haddadi, Papu Gómez and De Jong.
Barcelona lineup: Ter Stegen; Dest, Mingueza, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Pedri; Messi and Dembélé.