Sevilla vs Barcelona: In-form sides face off in Copa del Rey semi-final 1st leg

Barca have shown a great fighting spirit of late and will aim to keep up the fine run of form as they turn their attention away from La Liga.

FC Barcelona pay a visit to Sevilla on Wednesday for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.

Both contestants will be looking to make their case stronger for booking a place in the final and face either of Athletic Bilbao or Levante ahead of the second leg next month.

The Catalan giants, who happen to be the closest challengers to Atletico Madrid in La Liga, are in remarkable form lately and so are the Andalusian outfit, who boast great pedigree in the cup competition – and it all shapes up for an exciting clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Sevilla vs Barcelona Form:

The hosts beat Segunda Division side Almeria to reach the semi-finals of the competition, with a 67th-minute goal from Lucas Ocampos proving enough for the victory.

Sevilla go into the tie on the back of a dominating 3-0 win over Getafe in La Liga, which marked their seventh successive win across all competitions.

Defense is a strong point for Los Nervionense, having not conceded a goal in each of their last five games across all competitions. In 21 La Liga outings so far, they have allowed just 16 goals – the second-best record in the league.

Talking about pedigree in the competition, they have won the Copa del Rey three times in the last 11 years, and five times in total.

Barcelona, meanwhile, earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Real Betis last time out. It marked their sixth successive win on the bounce across all competitions.

The Blaugrana had to overcome Granada to reach this far in the competition. They needed extra time to get the job done but came out with a dramatic 5-3 result.

In each of their last seven games, they have scored at least two goals.

Barca are the most successful team in the competition, having won the cup an incredible 30 times with their latest triumph coming in 2018-19.

Sevilla vs Barcelona Head-to-head:

The team in Red & Blue have a head-to-head advantage over the team in Red & Whites, having won 36 times and losing on just nine occasions. 11 of the meetings have ended in a draw.

1-1 was the result of the most recent encounter between the two sides, with Philippe Coutinho and Luuk de Jong getting on the scoresheet in the La Liga fixture in October 2020.

Sevilla vs Barcelona Team News:

Julen Lopetegui has no fresh injury concerns. In fact, Ivan Rakitic is set to return after a one-match suspension.

Ronald Koeman has a long injury list and has just 13 first-team outfield players available. Miralem Pjanic (foot), Ronald Araujo (ankle), Sergino Dest (thigh), Martin Braithwaite (hamstring) Ansu Fati (knee) Gerard Pique (knee), Coutinho (knee), and Sergi Roberto (knee) are all out injured.