For his final match in charge of FC Sevilla, Quique Sánchez Flores will face Barcelona, a team he has held to a draw in three of their last four direct confrontations (1d). The result isn’t of great significance for the Andalusians, who can at least match their 12th-place finish from last season, but considering it’s their worst ranking in La Liga since 1999/00, it marks another disappointing season.
To secure this position in the standings, the Sevillans must put an end to a three-game losing streak on the final day and secure a victory. Sevilla has won four of their last six outings at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium (2d) and have emerged victorious in their last home match in La Liga in six of the past seven seasons (1d), keeping a clean sheet each time they won.
However, to replicate this feat would require a huge turnaround, as FC Barcelona has won the last four encounters in the league without conceding a goal, including a 1-0 victory in the first leg, and hasn’t lost this league clash away without scoring since December 1995. A 3-0 victory over Rayo Vallecano in their last encounter confirmed Barça’s place in the Spanish Super Cup next season, as they aim to secure four consecutive wins to finish their season, which would be their ninth victory in 11 La Liga matches (2d).
All this pales in comparison to Friday’s news, which stated that Xavi has been informed by the club that he will not be the team’s coach next season, despite his U-turn after expressing his desire to leave. This match now serves as a farewell for the club legend, with Hansi Flick supposedly waiting in the wings to take over the Catalans next season.
Key Battle: Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri tends to strike early, as eight of his last ten goals have come before halftime. He has also opened the scoring in six of his last seven appearances. He’ll need to get the better of Marc-André ter Stegen, who has kept three clean sheets in a row, thus improving his chances of retaining the Zamora Trophy for the best La Liga goalkeeper, and who has neutralized Sevilla in seven of their last eight direct confrontations in La Liga.
Hot Stat: Barcelona has scored first in their last 13 matches across all competitions.
Probable Lineups
Sevilla : Nyland; Salas, Bade, Ramos; Sanchez, Soumare, Agoume, Acuna; Lukebakio, En-Nesyri, Ocampos
Barcelona : Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Cancelo; Pedri, Christensen, Gundogan; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
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