Barcelona vs Sevilla 13/08/18

13 August 2018

For the second time in the past three years, Barcelona and Sevilla will face against each other in the Spanish Super Cup Final, although unlike in the past when they had to play two legs, this time a match that will take place at the Stade Ibn Batouta in Tangier, Morocco, will determine the winners of the prestigious trophy. Although the Blaugrana destroyed the Andalusian team in the Copa del Rey Final by five goals to one, the fact that the Catalan giants also wrapped up La Liga title led to this encounter. Ernesto Valverde’s team have had a quite limited time to prepare for the new season mainly thanks to the World Cup that took place in Russia earlier in the summer, which is why the former Athletic Bilbao coach didn’t have an opportunity to try Malcom and Arthur with the majority of the first-team members. Meanwhile, Los Hispalenses already have two competitive matches this season, as they hammered the Hungarian side Ujpest 7-1 on aggregate in the Europa League qualifications. Apart from those two games, Pablo Machín’s players also encountered Linares, Bournemouth, Murcia, Benfica, and Extremadura as part of their preparations for the new season, losing only to the Portuguese giants by one goal to nil.

André Gomes and Denis Suárez are out due to injuries, while Sergi Roberto won’t be available due to suspension for Barcelona. As for Sevilla, Alex Vidal, who returned to the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium from Camp Nou, might start the match from the first minute.