Barcelona vs Sevilla Prediction: Back Lewandowski to open the scoring

We have another Free to Air La Liga game on Sunday evening as ITV4 will be broadcasting Sevilla's trip to Barcelona from 20:00.

Our Spanish Football expert Mark Sochon previews the encounter and picks out his Best Bets. Read on his Barcelona vs Sevilla Predictions here on Betfred Insights...

Barcelona return to league action this Sunday when they entertain Sevilla in a game that is live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV4. 

These have been two of La Liga's most successful clubs over the past couple of decades, but both have run into difficulties in recent years and are bidding to put poor 2023/24 seasons behind them with new coaches at the helm. 

It's certainly a case of so far, so good for Hansi Flick at Barça. Eight wins out of nine in the league leaves the Catalan giants top of the table heading into matchday 10. They'll be determined to chalk up another victory here to ensure they go into next weekend's Clásico with at least a three point advantage on Real Madrid. 

There's also the small matter of a Champions League date with Bayern Munich before then, so it's certainly going to be the biggest week of Flick's reign to date. It should give us a clearer idea of whether Barça are truly back as a force to be reckoned with at the very elite level. 

Their performances so far this term seem to suggest that is the case. They've rattled in 34 goals in all competitions at a rate better than three per game. Wingers Rapinha and Lamine Yamal have excelled, either side of an in-form Robert Lewandowski who is relishing life back under his old Bayern boss. 

Those three have scored 68% of Barça's goals this term. Lewandowski alone has netted 12 in 11 games and it was the Polish striker who did the damage last time out, firing in a First Half hat-trick as the league leaders cruised to a 3-0 win at Alavés. 

As for Sevilla, it has been a mixed start to life under García Pimienta and a return of three wins, three draws and three defeats so far sums that up. 

They're a club that has been crying out for a bit of stability on and off the pitch, with Pimienta this summer becoming the fifth permanent Sevilla boss since the departure of Julen Lopetegui in October 2022. 

A poor 2-1 defeat at Alavés last month, which was not greeted well by the small visiting section, added to the suspicion that it might not be long before we got another change in the Sevilla dugout.  

However results have picked up since then and Pimienta somewhat bizarrely signed a contract extension after a 2-1 win over Real Valladolid a few weeks ago. That was just Sevilla's second victory of the campaign and it was hardly a season-defining result, coming at home to newly promoted opposition. 

Last time out though, the new boss did get the kind of performance that might just have won over some of his doubters. A 1-0 derby win over Real Betis at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, thanks to a penalty from Dodi Lukebakio, lifted the mood considerably heading into the international break. 

Pimienta is very much a product of the Barcelona system, coming through the ranks at the Catalan club as a young player, before later spending 15 years there in various coaching roles.  

He was even briefly touted as a potential successor to Xavi when his Las Palmas side were flying high at the start of last season, but it hasn't been easy for him to implement his preferred passing style on what is easily one of the most limited Sevilla squads in recent memory. 

Team News: 

Barcelona's injury issues have eased over the last fortnight with Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo, Gavi and Fermín López available again. While it may be that none of those players are considered ready to start this match, it's a significant boost to Flick's midfield depth and he'll have more options to bring off the bench here as a result. 

Wonderkid Lamine Yamal did pick up a slight knock on international duty with Spain though. He is set to be part of the matchday squad on Sunday, but it's unclear whether Flick will risk him from the off with two huge games to come over the next week. 

Despite the signing of Wojciech Szczęsny as cover for the injured Marc-André ter Stegen, the German has also confirmed that Iñaki Peña will continue to be the starting goalkeeper. Marc Bernal, Ronald Araújo, Ferrán Torres and Andreas Christensen are the other injury absentees for the hosts here. 

Sevilla have fewer issues on that front with only Atleti loanee Saúl Ñíguez expected to miss this game due to injury. They'll also be without Tanguy Nianzou after the young defender saw red late in the Seville derby. 

Club captain Marcão is expected to replace Nianzou in what may be the only change from that game. 

Barcelona vs Sevilla Odds

Barcelona head into this as the clear favourites at 2/7 to win. That means the traders think their chances to walk away with all the points are rated at 78%. You can back the Draw at 5/1 (17%), while Sevilla are priced at 8/1 (11%). 

If you're expecting the visitors to at least compete, Sevilla are available at 19/20 with a +2.00 Handicap, while you can back Draw or Sevilla at 12/5 in the Double Chance market. 

Barça have won four of their last six La Liga games by at least a three goal margin though. They can be backed at 15/8 with a -2.00 Handicap here, while you can get odds of 8/13 for Barcelona to win and Over 2.5 goals. The home team are also available at 8/5 to win both halves. 

La Liga top goalscorer Robert Lewandowski leads the way at 4/6 to score anytime in this match, while Raphinha is priced at 6/5 to add to his impressive return of five league goals. Flick may look to limit his involvement to some extent though, after a busy international break in South America for the former Leeds man. 

From a Sevilla perspective, Isaac Romero should lead the line and he's priced at 16/5 to score anytime. You can also back Dodi Lukebakio to build on his derby goal by scoring anytime at 16/5, while on the other flank, Chidera Ejuke is priced at 4/1 to do likewise. 

*You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Bet 1 - Both teams to score & Over 23.5 shots at 1/1 

Barcelona have been really impressive going forwards this season, but they have left gaps at the back at times. The visitors certainly have enough pace in the wide areas to suggest they can ask a few questions on the break so it's very possible they get on the scoresheet at some point in this game. 

Sevilla are averaging 14.8 shots per game in La Liga this term, with only three teams, one of whom is unsurprisingly Barcelona, taking more attempts. They'll most likely be keen to test the home team's inexperienced goalkeeper from range too, so I can see the shot count rising quickly in this one and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Both teams to score and Over 23.5 shots at 1/1. 

Bet 2 - Robert Lewandowski to score first @ 3/1 

One of the main beneficiaries of Flick's appointment in Barcelona has unquestionably been Lewandowski who is playing the best football of his career in Spain to date. There is no suggestion that the veteran striker will be rested here and on current form, he's the outstanding candidate to open the scoring. 

The 36-year-old has scored the opening goal in four of Barça's last five matches in all competitions and eight of his 10 strikes in the league have come before the break. Given how quickly he is tending to start games, I'm backing Lewandowski to score first at 3/1 here. 

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...