Barcelona coach Xavi adheres to the Machiavellian principle – the end justifies the means. The Catalans are not playing beautifully, it’s not even like the Barca of the Messi era, but the first place in Primera, a solid five points ahead of the European champion Real Madrid mid-season, give hope to the army of fans that better days are coming at the Nou Camp.The table toppers won four matches in a row, three times with a minimum score of 1-0. Pedri was decisive last month, while Raphinha and Lewandowski scored against Betis in Seville four days ago.Tonight (23:00) Barca are waiting for Sevilla at Nou Camp. The Andalusians rallied, Jorge Sampaoli managed to lead the team to safety after a terrible start under the command of Julen Lopetegui. The team from the Sánchez Pizjuan Stadium won three of the last four matches, not conceding a goal in the previous 180 minutes. Moroccan striker Youssef En Nesyri is in form, having scored three goals in the previous two games, against Elche in the Primera and Osasuna in the Copa del Rey.Barcelona are likely to make just one change for this evening’s match against Sevilla, with Alejandro Balde not expected to be fit enough to start.Jordi Alba will replace him in Xavi’s starting XI. pic.twitter.com/OywNxF1hy0— Football España (@footballespana_) February 5, 2023 Barca have a granite defense that has conceded just seven goals in 19 games, and at the Nou Camp, German goalkeeper Ter Stegen has only took the ball once out of his net and that was the work of Espanyol player Joselu from the penalty spot on the final day of 2022.Xavi’s team won seven times at their home ground and drew twice. The only absence for the hosts is Frenchman Ousmane Dembele. Up front, a place is reserved for Robert Lewandowski, while Gavi and Raphinha are threatening on the wings.Sevilla still have a large number of injured players. Sampoli cannot count on Jesus Navas, Papu Gomez, Marcao, Corona, and Alex Telles. Argentinians Erik Lamela and Lucas Ocampos will operate closest to ter Stegen.In the first part of the current Primera Division campaign, Barca beat Sevilla in Andalucia 3-0.📊 Barça ilə Sevilla FC arasında baş tutan son 5⃣ matç. #FCBAZFAN pic.twitter.com/S7WSCzqBSg— FC Barcelona Azerbaijan (@fcbazfan2010) February 5, 2023 LA LIGA – Matchday 20Wednesday Friday Ath.Bilbao – Cadiz 4-1 (3-1)/Sancet 10, 35, 75, Alvarez 44 – Escalante 25/Saturday Espanyol – Osasuna 1-1 (0-1)/Braithwaite 59 – Budimir 45/Elche – Villareal 3-1 (2-1)/Milla 3, 45+3 pen, 52 pen – Moreno 22/Atl.Madrid – Getafe 1-1 (0-0)/Correa 62 – Unal 83 pen/Betis – Celta 3-4 (2-2)/Juanmi 9, Canales 23, Fekir 84 – Larsen 6, Veiga 42, 56, Aidoo 69/Sunday 16.00: (5.30) Mallorca (3.50) Real Madrid (1.73)18.15: (2.35) Girona (3.20) Valencia (3.15)20.30: (1.48) Sociedad (4.10) Valladolid (7.50)23.00: (1.37) Barcelona (5.10) Sevilla (10.0)***odds are subject to change*
