Leaders in La Liga Barcelona will play Sevilla at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday night with the goal of recording their ninth home win of the year.
With 24 points from their first nine games of the season, Hansi Flick's team leads the La Liga standings, while Sevilla has only managed 12 points from their first nine games, placing them in 12th place.
Due to their severe injury difficulties this season, Barcelona has had an even more spectacular start to the league season, winning eight of their first nine games to hold the top spot at this point.
The Spanish team's season total of 24 points puts them three points ahead of Real Madrid in second place. They have scored 28 goals in La Liga this year, easily holding the record for most goals scored by an offensive team.
In fact, Sevilla has only defeated Barcelona once in the league since March 2007, and they haven't defeated the Catalan powerhouses away from home in La Liga since December 2002.
Barcelona suffered a surprising 4-2 defeat to Osasuna at the end of September, but they bounced back impressively. They demolished Young Boys 5-0 in the Champions League and followed it up with a 3-0 win against Alaves in La Liga.
Lamine Yamal has continued to be a key player for Barcelona this season, though Robert Lewandowski remains their primary goal scorer, netting 10 times in nine league appearances.
Barcelona faces a critical week ahead, with a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and the highly anticipated El Clasico against Real Madrid next weekend.
The Catalan giants have dominated recent encounters with Sevilla, winning their last five matchups, and they haven’t lost to them in La Liga since October 2015. Sevilla, now under the management of Garcia Pimienta, have collected 12 points from nine league games this season, placing them 12th in the table and 12 points behind their Sunday opponents.
Sevilla comes into the match in solid form, having earned seven points from their last three outings, including a 1-0 victory over Real Betis in the Seville derby before the international break.
They have only lost one of their last five La Liga matches and have been defeated just once in their three away fixtures this season, with draws against Las Palmas, Mallorca, and Athletic Bilbao.
Los Nervionenses finished in 14th place in the standings after a poor 2023–24 campaign, which proved to be their lowest performance since they were demoted from the first division in 2000.
Robert Lewandowski and Dodi Lukebakio did not had the best international vacations, but they are both eager to play for their teams this weekend.
Lewandowski's retirement from international football after Euro 2024 was widely anticipated, but it looks like he will play on until the 2026 World Cup. The 36-year-old has been playing brilliantly for Barcelona lately, but he was unable to score for his country at the intermission. Having scored eight goals in his last five games for the team, he poses a continuous danger on Sunday.
Dodi Lukebakio, 27, only managed two cameo appearances for Belgium and failed to score either at the intermission.
The Sevilla player has scored three goals for his team in La Liga to start the season rather effectively. To equal his total from the previous season, he simply needs two more, but he will require more than that to start for his country.
But for the time being, he will only be concerned with leading his team to win against Sevilla, who have won their last three games despite a terrible start to the season under new manager Garcia Pimienta.
Despite their rise before the international break, Sunday's visitors are now 12th in La Liga. Their most recent triumph came against Real Betis in the Seville Derby.
