Barcelona will be bidding to make it 10 straight wins in all competitions when they welcome Sevilla to Camp Nou in La Liga on Sunday night.
The Catalan outfit are currently top of the table, five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while Sevilla occupy 13th, just two points ahead of the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Barcelona's failure to qualify for the knockout round of the Champions League was a huge blow to the club, but aside from the European disappointment, the team have been excellent for much of this campaign.
Xavi's side have already secured their first trophy of 2022-23, lifting the Spanish Super Cup last month, while they are chasing success in three more competitions, including the Europa League, where they will take on Manchester United in a two-legged knockout round playoff later this month.
Barcelona will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, while they are currently in pole position in the La Liga table, sitting top, five points clear of second-placed Real Madrid on the same number of games (19).
The Catalan giants have won each of their last four league games against Atletico Madrid, Getafe, Girona and Real Betis, beating the latter 2-1 on Wednesday night, with Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski netting in the second half of the contest in Seville.
Barcelona will face Sevilla and Villarreal in their next two league matches before welcoming Man United for the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff on February 16.
Xavi's team have the best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 23 points from nine matches, and they will be welcoming a Sevilla outfit who have collected just nine points from nine games on their travels.
© Reuters
Not too long ago, Sevilla were in the relegation zone, but three wins from their last four league matches has allowed them to move into 13th spot in the table on 21 points.
Jorge Sampaoli's side have overcome Getafe, Cadiz and Elche in three of their last four games, beating the latter 3-0 last time out to rise up the table, but it is still so tight towards the bottom.
Indeed, there are only three points between 18th-placed Cadiz and Almeria in 11th, so the picture could change so quickly, and Sevilla are actually now just five points behind ninth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
Los Nervionenses have finished fourth in each of their last three campaigns, but they are 13 points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid at this stage, so it is very difficult to imagine them picking up enough points over the next few months to put themselves in contention for a Champions League spot.
Sevilla's relegation fears have been eased, but they are only two points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz, and they now face a match with the best side in the division, at least according to the league table.
Barcelona recorded a 3-0 victory at Estadio Ramon earlier this season, while they have not lost to Sevilla in Spain's top flight since October 2015, which is an indication of the size of the away side's task here.
Team News
© Reuters
Barcelona welcomed Lewandowski and Ferran Torres back from suspension against Real Betis, and the Catalan outfit only have one first-team injury at the moment, with Ousmane Dembele remaining on the sidelines.
Dembele could return before the end of the month depending on how his recovery progresses.
Xavi has big decisions to make all over the pitch due to the competition for spots, but it would not be a shock to see the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Real Betis.
As a result, Raphinha and Gavi should feature alongside Lewandowski in the final third of the field, while Alejandro Balde will be hoping to keep out Jordi Alba at left-back.
As for Sevilla, Erik Lamela will be back from suspension, and the experienced attacker is expected to feature in the first XI at Camp Nou.
However, Marko Dmitrovic, Papu Gomez, Alex Telles, Marcao, Jesus Manuel Corona, Fernando and Jesus Navas are on the sidelines due to fitness problems.
Youssef En-Nesyri scored twice against Elche last time out and will continue at centre-forward, while Joan Jordan and Thomas Delaney could potentially come in for starts this weekend.
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, Busquets, De Jong; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi
Sevilla possible starting lineup:
Bounou; Montiel, Gudelj, Nianzou, Acuna; Delaney, Rakitic; Jordan, Torres, Lamela; En-Nesyri
We say: Barcelona 2-0 Sevilla
Sevilla are an improving outfit, with the team heading up the division, but it is very difficult to back them to pick up a positive result here. Barcelona's winning run will come to an end at some stage, but we are fully expecting Xavi's side to navigate their way to an important three points in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
