The Estadio Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán is once again the setting for this game, but four days later, the two clubs will face off at Camp Nou in the second leg of their Copa tie.
Barcelona have players at all levels
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui has made it clear that on Saturday, he expects a different side of Barcelona from his side beat in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on February 10. The Estadio Ramon Sánchez Pizjuán is once again the setting for this game, but four days later, the two clubs will face off at Camp Nou in the second leg of their Copa tie. “We are not looking at any other game than the one in front of us,” Lopetegui said during a pre-match press conference on Friday. “We have to focus on what we have to do tomorrow against a team that will make us play better than we played. They have players at all levels, and with the quality they have, there’s not much more to say. I do not doubt that we will have a great opponent in front of us.”
Sevilla won just three of their last 19 appearances against Barca
With Sevilla’s 2-0 win over Barcelona at Copa, could Lopetegui see this as a way to beat Ronald Koeman’s side? “They are going to be two very different matches,” Lopetegui said, referencing the LaLiga match, which will be followed by the Copa in a few days. “All the games that have finished can act as a guideline for some things and others for things that you didn’t do well, as is the case for them. We will all try to develop in this second game. We are very excited, demanding and have to be prepared”. Sevilla’s home record against Barcelona in LaLiga is relatively low, having won just three of their last 19 games against Barcelona, but the coach is not overly shocked by this statistic.
“It speaks for the quality and strength of tomorrow’s team,” said Lopetegi. “The match kicks off as usual, and we will get what we put into the game. Besides the strength, they have the best player of all time – Leo Messi.”