Barcelona vs Sevilla live score, updates, highlights from La Liga as Jordi Alba gets opening goal

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Barcelona look to capitalise on another slip up from Real Madrid as they host Sevilla at the Camp Nou on Sunday.

The Blaugrana can move a massive eight points clear at the top of the La Liga table with another victory, thanks to Madrid laying an egg at Mallorca in a 1-0 defeat earlier in the day. An injury to Karim Benzema left Los Blancos with a toothless attack, and a penalty miss from Marco Asensio sealed their fate.

Now, it’s Barcelona’s turn to secure points, and should they complete the task they would become massive favorites to secure the league title despite their earlier failures in European play.

The job will be difficult, however, as Jorge Sampaoli has Sevilla looking revitalised, with three wins in their last four league matches. All three of those victories came against relegation candidates though, and whilst that seems to have rescued the club from imminent peril, they have yet to prove that they’re truly dangerous against top sides. Today, they can take the next step in recovering an otherwise lost season.

The Sporting News will be following the match live and providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

Barcelona vs Sevilla live score

  1H 2H Score
Barcelona 0 2 2
Sevilla 0 0 0

Goals:
58th min — BAR — Jordi Alba
71st min — BAR — Gavi

Confirmed lineups:

Barcelona (4-4-2, right to left): 1. ter Stegen (GK) — 23. Kounde, 4. R. Araujo, 15. Christensen, 18. Alba — 8. Pedri, 5. Busquets (Kessie, 9′), 21. de Jong, 6. Gavi — 22. Raphinha, 9. Lewandowski.

Sevilla (5-4-1, right to left): 13. Bounou (GK) — 2. Montiel, 22. Bade, 6. Grudelj, 4. Rekik, 19. M. Acuna (Ocampos, 65′) — 21. O. Torres (Lamela, 46′), 8. Jordan, 10. Rakitic, 18. P. Gueye — 15. En-Nesyri (Gil, 46′).

Barcelona vs Sevilla live updates, highlights, commentary

Barcelona vs Sevilla: Second half

71st min: GOAL! BARCELONA! Xavi has been talking Gavi up for weeks, and he continues to show his quality getting Barcelona’s second goal of the day. That man Raphinha, who’s again had a tough day at the office, provides the assist and there’s really no way back for Sevilla here as they have provided almost no resistance.

63rd min: Jules Kounde rips one from a good 30 yards out and sails it miles over the bar. Barca are now really enjoying their football after going in front, and it looks a long way back for Sevilla now a goal down and unable to get on the ball.

There’s a concern now for Sevilla as they’re forced into a change, with an injury to Marcos Acuna, who’s one of their more positive players going forward. Coming on in his place is Lucas Ocampos.

58th min: GOAL! BARCELONA! It’s the diagonal ball again that creates a chance, and sure enough Barcelona find their opener. The ball falls to Raphinha with that same run as before and heads to Franck Kessie at the penalty spot, where the ball sticks at his feet. The Nigerian produces a fabulous turn to switch his vision and find Jordi Alba making a far-post run, and Alba slots it home with a calm finish.

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56th min: Barcelona come very close here to creating a good chance, with Pedri delivering a great diagonal ball to Raphinha on the right who got free, but the Brazilian couldn’t decide whether to head on goal from a tight angle or head across to Robert Lewandowski. Instead, he did neither, and headed it right into the chest of Yassine Bounou.

While that didn’t come off, the slight change in approach for Barcelona in the final third has started to create openings in the packed-in Sevilla defence.

51st min: Barcelona have ditched their tiki-taka approach just a bit, and have begun to send more balls into the penalty area via lateral crosses and vertical deliveries. A clear tactical tweak from Xavi that does seem to be troubling Sevilla bit, although it fails to produce anything just yet.

47th min: It looks like Ivan Rakitic, of all people, is playing up front as a central striker. Talk about a False 9!

Kickoff: The second half is under way and there are no changes from Xavi at this point. The Barcelona boss has been known to trust his tactical approach and players even when things look ugly at times. It’s tough to say the first 45 minutes looked “ugly” by any stretch, but they lacked creativity and were clearly instructed to prefer safe passes and possessional dominance over 1v1 take-ons and attacking with pace. We’ll see how long Xavi sticks with that approach before deciding to make a change, if it stays scoreless.

Sevilla do make a change, however — a pair, in fact, as Youssouf En-Nesyri is yanked in favor of Bryan Gil. Oliver Torres also comes off, with Erik Lamela brought on to battle the midfield numbers.

HALFTIME: Barcelona 0-0 Sevilla

Jorge Sampaoli’s defensive organisation is causing significant problems for Barcelona, and Yassine Bounou was on hand to keep out the only truly good chance for the hosts, getting his fingertips to Robert Lewandowski’s hit in the moment of the first half.

Barcelona head coach Xavi will consider changes in the second half, as the four midfielders are dominating the ball, but have been unable to pass their way through the Sevilla defence. The Blaugrana could use pace to try and beat Sevilla at the expense of some possessional dominance.

Barcelona vs Sevilla: First half

45+1 min: Sevilla are just not cracking at all as Barcelona try to work another good chance in the attacking third. The hosts continue to try creative options through the middle, and just can’t find anything. Gavi doesn’t see Jordi Alba to his left catching Gonzalo Montiel high up the field. Raphinha’s entry feed is blocked. There’s just no passing lanes right now for Barcelona.

Ivan Rakitic gets a yellow for going in hard with his studs on Ronald Araujo. It’s one of those “orange” cards as his spikes were up into Araujo’s ankle, and the Uruguayan defender is down in some serious pain. He eventually gets up without requiring treatment and can continue. There’s some chatter about that being a straight red tackle, but it’s probably just low enough to keep Rakitic on the field.

42nd min: Robert Lewandowski tried to run a counter-attack, and it went about as well as you’d expect with a tall, lumbering striker on the ball at pace. Plodding forward on the ball, he’s got Raphinha all alone making a run on goal to his right, and the window was open for ages without a defender in sight, but Lewandowski just doesn’t seem him and instead tries to force it to Gavi to his left where it’s easily cut out by a Sevilla defender. Lewandowski’s a striker, not a No. 10, and that’s quite evident here.

39th min: Sevilla have their first shot on the Barcelona net, as Pape Gueye produces a speculative hit from distance that goes wide without troubling Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Barcelona have wasted their dominant spell of possession, and Sevilla are finally building into the match.

35th min: Sevilla have finally managed to secure a bit of time on the ball in the Barcelona half, but they get hemmed in on the right wing and can’t find a way through. The flag goes up for offside on a ball down the right from Gonzalo Montiel, and Barcelona win the ball back.

26th min: Chance, Barcelona! Robert Lewandowski has a rip from the top of the penalty area, and it’s got serious venom! That’s headed for inside the side netting, but Yassine Bounou makes a SENSATIONAL save! He goes fully airborne diving to his right and gets his fingertips to the ball, tipping it wide. What a stop! The shot had a 0.02 xG number, a very speculative effort, but Lewandowski crafted a hit with a 0.34 xGOT number, indicating what a great whack it was, and an even better stop by Bounou!

Barcelona continue to hold onto possession in massive quantities. It’s 70-30 right now, but it feels like more than that. Sure enough, ESPN show a statistic that the number is actually 90-10 over the last 15 minutes, which is more like it.

20th min: Barcelona are pummeling Sevilla at the moment, already winning their fourth corner of the match. It feels like the opener is imminent unless the visitors can find a way to alleviate the pressure.

17th min: Chance, Barcelona! Robert Lewandowski has an effort, but Nemanja Gudelj foils him again! Gavi manages to head it to the Polish striker on the right side of the six-yard box, and from a tight angle he’s got a chance to fire it on frame. It’s blocked slightly by Gudelj, which is enough to see Yassine Bounou make the save.

Ronald Araujo comes very close with a free header on the ensuing corner, but he puts it just wide left of the post.

16th min: A great long ball is sent in for Robert Lewandowski, and it’s an awkward one for a backpedaling Nemanja Gudelj to deal with, but he manages to head it over his own crossbar for a corner. A great bit of defending, in all honesty, given the angle of that delivery.

13th min: There’s some needle to this match already. Raphinha is fouled on the right flank by Marcos Acuna, and then the referee, Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez, has to go over and tell Jorge Sampaoli to quiet down. Keep an eye on that one.

9th min: Sevilla tried to keep the ball in play for as long as possible to delay Kessie’s introduction and catch Barcelona down a man, but the hosts defended that possession extremely well. Gavi fouls Joan Jordan in midfield which allows Kessie to enter.

Busquets is out of contract at the end of the season, and is thought likely to leave the club. They still haven’t quite sorted out a plan to replace him, with some believing Frenkie de Jong should slot into that deep-lying No. 6 role. He’ll have an early audition now and over the next few matches depending on the severity of Busquets’ injury.

6th min: Busquets goes off the field and shakes his head to Xavi, indicating he can’t continue. That’s a big early blow for Barcelona, and Franck Kessie will get a chance to impress. For now, Barcelona play a man down and catch Sevilla off guard on the restart, but the visitors clear before a shot can be produced.

3rd min: Barcelona are holding the majority of the early possession, unsurprisingly, but have yet to venture forward into the attacking third. It’s a 4-3-3 early on, with Pedri and Gavi both taking turns filtering out wide. It’s extremely fluid in the midfield of this tactical setup.

Sergio Busquets is fouled on the right flank, and he’s requiring treatment, looks a bit of a painful one as he twists his ankle under the pressure from Youssouf En Nesyri. Franck Kessie is warming up on the touchline, and the whole Barcelona squad is surrounding Busquets, which isn’t a great sign for the club captain.

Kickoff: The match is under way after a few minutes delay at the iconic Nou Camp, as Barcelona look to go eight points clear at the top of the league table! Can they bury Real Madrid? There’s still a ton of football to be played, but that kind of gap seems tough to overcome given how well Barcelona are playing.

Barcelona vs Sevilla pre-match lineups, commentary, analysis, stats, and more

5 mins to kick: Barcelona have an incredible unbeaten record going against Sevilla, now stretched to 14 games and nearly eight years. Sevilla have managed just two goals in their last 720 minutes of action against Barcelona across all competitions, which is a simply putrid goalscoring record.

Sevilla haven’t won at the Camp Nou since 2002, a miserable run of 19 winless games at Barcelona.

12 mins to kick: After playing in their gold third kit at Real Betis last time out, Barcelona are back in their classic hoops kit today at home.

33 mins to kick: Today’s match could provide an entertaining goalkeeper matchup. Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been essential to Barcelona’s incredible defensive record in league play this season, conceding just seven goals all year through 19 games, and one of those was an own-goal in the last match. Those seven goals have come against 15.51 xG and 9.81 xGOT, so ter Stegen’s contributions have been enormous.

He’ll match up against Yassine Bounou who was sensational at the FIFA World Cup for Morocco in December. Bounou has quietly been bright for Sevilla in net, as he’s been pummeled at the back with good opposition chances. The 26 goals Sevilla have conceded this year have come on 30.75 xG and 28.37 xGOT, so Bounou has also been a large positive in net.

47 mins to kick: Even the opponents have to take a moment to soak in the iconic nature of today’s venue, the Nou Camp.

60 mins to kick: Sevilla have now entered their lineup, and Jorge Sampaoli has made a few changes in midfield. Suso and Luas Ocampos both drop to the bench, while Pape Gueye and Oliver Torres enter. There’s also a change at the back, as Serbian defender Nemanja Gudelj comes into the back line for Fernando.

75 mins to kick: The Barcelona lineup is in, and the only real surprise is that Jordi Alba enters for Alex Balde at left-back. Balde has been quite good of late, especially in the most recent 2-1 win over Real Betis. There are reports that Balde has been ill over the last few days, which would necessitate the change.

95 mins to kick: Barcelona’s new No. 6, Gavi, has his manager Xavi all in his feels. As the former owner of that iconic number at this iconic club, Xavi hasn’t been able to hold back his praise for the young midfielder. While Gavi isn’t quite the same profile of player his current manager once was, it’s still quite meaningful to Xavi to watch someone else excel with that number.

Gavi has been an important player throughout his time at the Camp Nou, but especially now with Ousmane Dembele injured, as he gives Xavi the flexibility to play a fluid lineup that sees Gavi rotate from a midfield position to a more wide attacking role depending on the situation.

120 mins to kick: Barcelona winger Raphinha has come under fire for poor performances of late, and rightly so. He has looked lost out there in large stretches of games, including the first half against Real Betis last time out in La Liga. Yet Barcelona head coach Xavi has backed the Brazilian at every opportunity, both on the field with consistent minutes, and in press conferences with his defence of the former Leeds United star.

Before today’s match, he reiterated his support for Raphinha, praising the winger’s contributions on goals as well as his pressing off the ball. Clearly Raphinha does the little things that please Xavi and keep him in the lineup over young Ansu Fati, who has consistently provided a spark off the bench.

Barcelona vs Sevilla lineups & team news

With Ousmane Dembele injured for another couple of weeks, Xavi has transitioned to a fluid 4-4-2 with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha up front. Gavi plays in a hybrid role, starting as a midfielder but with the flexibility to go out wide and transition the attack into a 4-3-3.

Raphinha has come under fire for poor form from fans and media, but Xavi has backed the Brazilian at every turn, refusing to start Ansu Fati despite the youngster’s numerous contributions off the bench.

Jordi Alba enters at left-back, a surprise given the solid recent form of Alex Balde.

Barcelona confirmed starting lineup (4-4-2): ter Stegen (GK) — Kounde, R. Araujo, Christensen, Alba — Pedri, Busquets, de Jong, Gavi — Raphinha, Lewandowski.

Barcelona subs (10): Pena (GK), Tenas (GK), Alonso, S. Roberto, E. Garcia, Balde, Kessie, Fati, F. Torres, Alcaron.

Jorge Sampaoli has turned things around at Sevilla, and it’s mostly thanks to his ability to get the best Sevilla players back on form. Youssouf En-Nesyri is the main goalscoring threat, but he had been invisible this season until bagging his first two goals of the entire season last time out against Elche. Marcos Acuna and Ivan Rakitic have also found the back of the net of late.

Sevilla are likely missing Alex Telles and Marcao to short-term injuries, while Jesus Navas and Jesus Corona miss out with longer-term issues. Suso and Lucas Ocampos have been rotated to the bench by Sampaoli, with Oliver Torres and Pape Gueye slotted in on the flanks.

Sevilla confirmed starting lineup (5-4-1): Bounou (GK) — Montiel, Bade, Gudelj, Rekik, Acuna — O. Torres, Jordan, Rakitic, P. Gueye — En-Nesyri.

Sevilla subs (10): Dmitrovic (GK), A. Flores (GK), Nianzou, Fernando, Suso, C. Alvarez, Ocampos, Mir, Lamela, Gil.

How to watch Barcelona vs Sevilla

Here’s how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:

  Date Time TV channel Streaming
USA Sun, Feb. 5 15:00 ET —  ESPN+
Canada Sun, Feb. 5 15:00 ET TSN3 TSN app, TSN.ca
UK Sun, Feb. 5 20:00 GMT LaLiga TV, ITV4 ITVX, Viaplay Sports
Australia Mon, Feb. 6 07:00 AEST — Optus Sport
New Zealand Mon, Feb. 6 09:00 NZDT — beIN Sports Connect
India Mon, Feb. 6 01:30 IST — Voot Select, JioTV
Hong Kong Mon, Feb. 6 04:00 HKT Now Sports 2 Now Player
Malaysia Mon, Feb. 6 04:00 MYT Astro Supersport 4 sooka, beIN Sports Connect, Astro Go
Singapore Mon, Feb. 6 04:00 SGT — StarHub TV+, beIN Sports Connect

UK: La Liga matches in the UK are carried on LaLiga TV and ITV, with ITV’s streaming platform ITVX available for online viewing.

USA: All La Liga matches in the United States are shown on ESPN’s premium streaming service ESPN+, requiring a subscription to view.

Canada: All La Liga matches in Canada are available via TSN’s streaming options, with today’s match broadcast on TSN3.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport. 

Barcelona vs Sevilla betting odds & lines

Odds via BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK), and Neds (Australia).

  BetMGM Sports
Interaction		 SkyBet Neds
Barcelona win -300 -319 3/10 1.32
Draw +420 +415 17/4 4.80
Sevilla win +775 +800 9/1 9.50
Both teams
to score Y / N		 +105 / -145 +100 / -156 1/1, 8/11 2.00 / 1.72
Over / Under
2.5 goals		 -150 / +110 -141 / +110 8/13, 6/5 1.68 / 2.10
Barcelona -1.5 -110 -104 — —
Sevilla +1.5 -130 -122 — —
This article was originally published by Sportingnews.com. Read the original article here.
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