Previews
SAT 13.08.2016
After having narrowly succumbed to defeat in the European Super Cup at the hands of Real Madrid, the Spanish Super Cup presents Sevilla FC with another chance to claim their first silverware of the campaign. FC Barcelona are the opponents in what's set to be a thrilling two-legged encounter, the first instalment of which kicks off on Sunday at 22:00 CET in the Andalusian capital.
The Catalan giants head to Seville bidding to claim their second trophy of the season on the back of their success in the Joan Gamper Trophy. Luis Enrique is able to call on the potent attacking talents of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, whilst German goalkeeper Ter Stegen is set to miss out after having picked up a knee injury in training on Thursday. Elsewhere, Jordi Alba comes back into contention after his return to full training. The Barça coach is under no illusions as to what a tough task his charges face against the Andalusians, although he has great confidence in his side's ability: "Each and every one of our training sessions are high intensity and that explains why this team wins trophies."
This fixture marks Sevilla's first competitive home outing of the campaign and it'll be a much-changed side which takes to the Sanchez Pizjuan pitch. The unavailability of Nico Pareja, Timothee Kolodziejczak (aka Kolo) and Daniel Carriço has seen youngster Diego Gonzalez drafted into Jorge Sampaoli's squad for the first-leg clash. Meanwhile, Vicente Iborra has shaken off a knock and looks set to take his place in the starting XI. Despite having to contend with numerous absences, Sampaoli has spoken of his plans to keep faith in the system he's deployed since taking over at Sevilla: "The best way to defend against a side like Barcelona is to try to dispossess them and match them in terms of possession and attempt to hurt them in that way."
Two fantastic teams, an iconic stadium and a Spanish Super Cup crown at stake, everything is finely poised for what promises to be quite a night at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
© LALIGA - 2016