Pre-match reports

ROUNDING OFF THE YEAR AT HOME TO FC BARCELONA

21/12/2021

Sevilla, on 37 points, are looking for a fourth consecutive victory, while the visitors, on 27, will move into the Champions League places with a win

Tonight, it's time for the final match of 2021 for Sevilla FC. FC Barcelona are the visitors to the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán in this Matchday 4 fixture, which was initially postponed due to the late return of players from international duty. Both sides have had a game in hand on the rest of the league since then, but they will now reach the same tally just before all teams reach 19 matches played, the halfway point of the season.

The team are still on a high after a hugely important win on Saturday against Atlético de Madrid, but Julen Lopetegui's side face another big match in Nervión barely 72 hours later, with the visit of an FC Barcelona team who find themselves lower in the table than they normally are, and they come to Seville needing a win to not fall too far away from those at the top of the league. Sevilla are looking for a fourth consecutive win in LaLiga after overcoming Villarreal, Athletic and Atlético de Madrid, and all three points would also mean finishing 2021 with 40 points, three behind leaders Real Madrid.

En-Nesyri could make his long-awaited return from injury tonight

As for the visitors, Xavi's side come to the Sánchez-Pizjuán on the back of a 3-2 triumph against Elche CF at the Camp Nou, after two matches without a win. They deserved the three points, but Elche made the Catalan side suffer, as they came from 2-0 down to level the scores with half an hour to play. Barcelona are currently eighth in the table on 27 points, but they would move into the Champions League places with a victory tonight.

As for team selection, Suso, Lamela and Jesús Navas are all unavailable, but, at yesterday's pre-match press conference, Julen Lopetegui confirmed that Youssef En-Nesyri has the all clear and could even make a start tonight, but he did not confirm the availability of Argentine trio Montiel, Acuña and Ocampos. Ansu Fati, Dest, Braithwaite, Pedri and Sergi Roberto are all unavailable for Barcelona, but Pique is back in the squad after a one-match suspension.

Tonight's match gets underway at 21:30 at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán and will be refereed by Del Cerro Grande.