Barcelona face Sevilla this evening at Camp Nou in a crucial clash. The sides are meeting in the second-leg of the Copa del Rey semi final, with the latter having drawn first blood courtesy of a 2-0 victory back at the Sanchez-Pizjuan last month.
One of the headlines upon the breaking of the team news was the omission of Barcelona’s expensive star Antoine Griezmann from the starting lineup. Ronald Koeman instead, just like he did when Barcelona beat Sevilla in La Liga 2-0 on Saturday, opted for a starting lineup with three centre-backs, two wingers and two forwards. This will be his third game out of the starting XI, a run he last recorded during the 2014/15 season as noted in a report by Mundo Deportivo.
The decision will hurt the French World Cup-winner. The general thought following his omission at the weekend was that he’d be fresh for this evening’s clash. It’s surprising because he started 2021 in such outstanding form, but he’s perhaps suffering from Koeman’s preference to elect a three-at-the-back shape as well as the form of Ousmane Dembele.
