David Villa
Barcelona v Sevilla – Saturday 22 October – Camp Nou (22:00)
The Spanish La Liga spoils football fans this weekend as two dominant forces go head to head. There is currently a miserly 2 points between them. These two very seldom fail to produce an action packed encounter.
Barcelona once again have proved that they truly are the best team in the world, brushing most teams aside with relative ease. They top the table, which can be expected with the crop of fine players they have at their disposal. Barcelona has depth in their squad that some clubs can only dream of, however this makes life difficult for coach Josep Guardiola to keep his players happy as there is a rotation policy amongst the squad. Lionel Messi has continued from where he left off as he leads the line with great confidence and unbelievable ability. He scored a brace this past weekend, taking his goal tally to 10 and ultimately topping the charts. With Xavi and Iniesta dictating the midfield and providing the likes of Messi and David Villa with countless opportunites of scoring, it’s no wonder Barcelona have a far more superior goal difference than any other team in the league with 22 goals thus far. Pep Guardiola recently stated that he does not want his team to get carried away as they got out the starting blocks in extraordinary fashion and reminded them that the season is not a sprint but a marathon.
Sevilla have kicked their season off in great fashion as they sit 4th on the table and only 2 points off the pace. They are coming off a hard fought 2-1 victory over Sporting Gijon. It wasn’t the best of showing from the team as they looked very lackluster and failed to take their chances. Goals from Manu del Moral and Martín Caceres proved decisive and kept the team in the running. Manager Marcelino Garcia Toral will be looking to go one step forward from last campaign as they finished in 5th spot. The likes of Frederic Kanoute, Jesus Navas and Julien Escude all experiencing heart ache at the end of last season, they will be expected to rally their troops and take that extra step to ensure success. Sevilla’s last piece of silverware came in the 2009-2010 season when they lifted the historic Copa del Rey, beating Atletico Madrid 2-0. There is no doubt they have the ability to repeat that fate but it will all boil down to keeping their key players fit as they lost talisman Frederic Kanoute at a crucial stage last term and ultimately lost their way in their title pursuit.
Both teams are in fine form and will be looking to continue their winning ways. Barcelona has a formidable home record and should maintain this come the final whistle.
