Does García Pimienta know something that his Sevilla predecessors did not to finally beat Barça?
By Filip Mishov
LaLiga leaders Barcelona have a big week ahead of them as they are set to host Sevilla on Sunday, and Bayern Munich, on Wednesday, at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys before making the trip to Spain’s capital to face arch-rivals Real Madrid all in the space of six day.
With that being said, Hansi Flick will be pressured to rotate in order to keep the squad fresh, but at the same time, the German tactician will hope to avoid the mistake of making too many changes as Osasuna taught the Champions League’s winning coach a harsh lesson, when Bryan Zaragoza & co. inflicted them their first defeat in the Spanish top-tier back in September.
Also, Flick’s faith in youth will be put to a test as the Catalonia-based club is the only one among Europe’s top five leagues to feature three 17-year-olds (Pau Cubarsi, Marc Bernal and Lamine Yamal) who have played more than 200 minutes. With the defensive midfielder – Bernal ruled out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury and Yamal sustaining a hamstring strain while on international duty with La Roja, that is almost certain to change as Barça have not put a timescale on the wonderkid’s possible return yet.
However, it is not all doom and gloom as Fermín López is back in training and Gavi is finally nearing a return from long-term injury with the Spanish prodigy taking part in first team training during the international break. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres remain on the sidelines and with Yamal out, the in-form vice-captain, Raphinha is expected to occupy the right wing spot, but Flick has to decide between giving Pau Víctor another opportunity at left wing or giving Ansu Fati his first start of the season.
As for Rojiblancos, Barcelona represent one of, if not the most difficult opponents to face because Sevilla’s last league win against Barça at Camp Nou dates back to 2002 and the Andalusia-based club has recorded only three league home wins against them over that same period. But the Sevillistas are hoping for a change of scenario as now, García Pimienta is at the helm, a former Barcelona player, and coach of La Masia’s youth teams and finally, Barcelona B. The Catalan has not enjoyed the best start of the season at his new club but Sevilla did defeat city rivals Betis before the international break and to extend their current unbeaten run to three games, something that sees them sat 12th in the standings. Additionally, unlike Flick, Pimienta enjoys a clean bill of health within his squad with only Saúl Ñíguez unavailable, which should give him plenty of options to choose from and provide support for Belgian forward Dodi Lukebakio, who has been their best player this season.
Finally, the Blaugrana boast a perfect home record in LaLiga with three wins under their belt, while Sevilla are still winless on the road this season with three draws and one loss, and given their struggles when facing Barça, it would take a monumental performance to break their Catalan curse, but hope dies last and who knows what Pimienta has up his sleeve from his time spent in Barcelona.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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