Barcelona vs Sevilla 31/01/19

31 January 2019

In the return leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, Barcelona welcome Sevilla to Camp Nou, hoping to overcome a 2-goal deficit from the first leg.

Although under-strength Catalans suffered a 2-0 loss at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan last week, things will be quite different with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the field. The reigning La Liga holders have managed to turn things around in the previous round of Copa del Rey when they’ve hammered Levante in the return leg after losing the first game. In his quest of reaching the semi-finals, Ernesto Valverde can rely on the fact the Blaugrana outmaneuvered Sevilla in 12 of their last 14 H2H meetings in Catalonia (W12, D2). Moreover, Valverde’s men have been unstoppable in the previous four home clashes across all competitions (W4), scoring over 2.5 goals per match three times while conceding just one goal in the process.

Meanwhile, although the visitors are carrying a 2-goal lead from the first leg, they are far away from booking the tickets for the semi-finals. Los Rojiblancos’ indifferent displays in their last seven road meetings across all competitions (W1, D3, L3) could have a major influence in this two-legged tie. In that period, Los Hispalenses have failed to keep a clean sheet, conceding over 1.5 goals per match only twice though. Furthermore, Pablo Machin’s men have failed to hit the net in five of their last ten competitive road games, scoring over 1.5 goals per match just twice in the process. Mainly thanks to Sevilla’s struggling in the final third, eight of their previous ten road meetings have produced under 2.5 goals, with the Andalusians picking up just two wins in the sequence.