Sevilla face Barcelona in ultimate test of title credentials: The Big Weekend Preview

Thomas Woods previews the weekend in European football, including upstarts Sevilla trying to take on Barcelona and the north London derby in the spotlight.

Ahead of a big weekend of European football, Thomas Woods breaks down the key talking points and key matches.

Can Sevilla consider themselves title contenders in Spain?

Instead of the usual three-horse race in Spain — involving Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid — four teams look to be in the mix this season.

With more than a quarter of the season played, Real lead on 24 points followed by Barca (22), Atletico and Sevilla on 21.

Sevilla are managed by Jorge Sampaoli, who led Chile to the Copa America in 2015, and has created quite an impression so far.

They are a team who have to reinvent themselves on a regular basis. Nine players left the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in the summer, including key Polish defender Grzegorz Krychowiak, who joined PSG, and 16-goal French forward Kevin Gameiro, who was signed by Atletico. Six players arrived on permanent deals, plus another four on loan.

• Video: Barcelona's Luis Suarez, with Lionel Messi in support, controls ball dropped from 35m crane

Sevilla have enjoyed great success in recent years, winning the Europa League in three successive years, but they have never challenged Barca and Real Madrid for the title in the way Atletico, Valencia or Real Sociedad have.

Sevilla’s best finish since 2010 is fifth, which they have managed three times, and have always been at least 18 points off the pace. In 2010/11, a fifth-placed finish was 38 points behind first.

What is different this time? The key to Sevilla’s continued success, despite varied finances, is their recruitment policy, led by director of football Monchi.

Because of this, Sampaoli has a squad full of players eager to prove a point and make an impact. The talented Samir Nasri, on loan from Manchester City after being deemed surplus to Pep Guardiola’s requirements, has started brightly, while Luciano Vietto, who struggled at Atletico Madrid last season, has started his loan spell at Sevilla with four Primera Liga goals and two assists in eight games.

On Sunday night, they face Barcelona in a huge test. They have taken points off Luis Enrique’s men before, but have also had their fair share of hidings.

Barca misfired last week in a 1-0 home win at Granada and Sevilla could be taking on the champions at the right time.

Can Tottenham’s title hopes survive a derby defeat?

Manchester City and Liverpool look to have relatively straightforward wins on the cards this weekend, against Middlesbrough and Watford at home respectively. It puts an extra emphasis on Sunday’s north London derby at the Emirates.

It is a game where a positive result seems even more important to the away side, Tottenham.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men are three points off the pace and a defeat, combined with the assumed victories for City and Liverpool, would make it a six-point gap.

It’s not insurmountable, but Spurs also have away trips to Chelsea and Manchester United in their next four league games, plus a home match against rivals West Ham United.

Tottenham remain the only unbeaten team in the Premier League, although their run of six matches in all competitions without a win is a concern. Pochettino will need to get his team rolling again otherwise, given their upcoming fixtures, the title race might leave them behind.

• Premier League predictions: Arsenal break down Spurs, Chelsea do enough to beat Everton

Is Mario Balotelli ‘back’?

Sometimes players need a change of scenery to rediscover their form and Nice seems to be a good place for it.

Hatem Ben Arfa, a player whose attitude had been questioned in the past, thrived on the French south coast last season and earned a big-money move to PSG.

This season it is Mario Balotelli’s turn. In the low-key setting, the famously volatile Italian is scoring goals for fun.

He’s scored seven goals in seven games this season, six in the league, and has netted in all but two of the games he has played. Balotelli was also sent off against Lorient, but it was very harsh.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for a player who last season scored once in 20 matches for AC Milan, and in the 2014/15 campaign, again managed a single goal for Liverpool in 16 Premier League appearances.

What are the chances of Balotelli, who is on a one year deal at Nice, following Ben Arfa’s example and earning a transfer to a bigger club next summer? If he sustains his current level, there are sure to be a few takers.

Matches to watch

Chelsea v Everton, 9.30pm

One plot line here is a battle between two of the league's top scorers. Chelsea's Diego Costa leads the way with eight goals with Romelu Lukaku of Everton just one less. Lukaku's power will trouble Chelsea's three-man defence, especially if he can get one-on-one with David Luiz. Costa meanwhile, has controlled his aggression this season which has contributed to a fantastic run of form. Both could well get on the scoresheet.

Sevilla v Barcelona, 11.45pm Sunday

We talked about Sevilla’s chances but Barcelona can ill afford defeat here, with Real Madrid two points ahead of them at the top of the Primera Liga. This is Barca’s second tough away trip in a week, following their 3-1 Uefa Champions League defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday. Their 1-0 win at Camp Nou against Granada last week was proof that sometimes they don’t click — 15 shots but just one goal against a team that had previously let in 23 in nine games.

Arsenal v Tottenham Sunday, 4pm

The north London derby is rarely a tight affair. Last season these two met three times and there were nine goals. The match comes at a pivotal time as the Premier League title race takes shape and Spurs will still be seething from last season’s home game, when they let a lead slip against 10 men. Arsenal’s come-from-behind win at Ludogorets in the Champions League on Tuesday would have provided some extra bounce, although Tottenham’s home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen 24 hours later could have the opposite effect.

Porto v Benfica, 10pm

Portuguese football's clasico has all the elements needed for a cracker. Last season Porto did the double over their rivals, which was surprising given they finished 18 points behind eventual champions Benfica. There were 15 yellow cards in the two games and expect the same level of commitment again, along with plenty of attacking flair.

Inter Milan v Crotone, Sunday, 9pm

Despite high expectations, Inter's season has gone off the rails. They have lost five of their last seven in all competitions and sacked manager Frank de Boer on Tuesday after just 85 days in charge. Meanwhile, the club's ultras have turned on captain Mauro Icardi for comments made in his autobiography. A great time to be playing bottom-placed Crotone then? Imagine if they lost.

Plan your weekend — the best TV games

• (All games on BeIN Sports, times in UAE)

Friday

Bundesliga — Hertha Berlin v Borussia Monchengladbach, 11.30pm

Ligue 1 — Montpellier v Marseille, 11.45pm

Saturday

Scottish Premiership — Celtic v Inverness, 7pm

Bundesliga — Bayern Munich v Hoffenheim, 6.30pm

Bundesliga — Hamburg v Borussia Dortmund, 6.30pm

Premier League — Manchester City v Middlesbrough, 7pm

Primera Liga — Real Sociedad v Atletico Madrid, 7.15pm

Premier League — Chelsea v Everton, 9.30pm

Serie A — Napoli v Lazio, 11.45pm

Sunday

Primera Liga — Real Madrid v Leganes, 3pm

Scottish Premiership — Ross County v Rangers, 4pm

Premier League — Arsenal v Tottenham, 4pm

Serie A — Chievo v Juventus, 6pm

Serie A — Palermo v AC Milan, 6pm

Premier League — Liverpool v Watford, 6.15pm

Premier League — Swansea v Manchester United, 7pm

Serie A — Inter v Crotone, 9pm

Portuguese Primeira Liga — Porto v Benfica, 10pm

Primera Liga — Sevilla v Barcelona, 11.45pm

Serie A — Roma v Bologna, 11.45pm

Ligue 1 — PSG v Rennes, 11.45pm

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