Second hosts first as La Liga returns with a table-topping cracker as Sevilla travel to Barcelona on Saturday night.
Surprise leaders Sevilla climbed to the top of the pile with a run of four straight victories before the international break, while Barca are aiming to return to winning ways after collecting three draws and a defeat from their last four outings.
Goals should be guaranteed as La Liga’s highest-scoring teams go head to head – Barca have netted 19 to Sevilla’s 18 – and there are plenty of talking points ahead of a game which promises to be memorable. Here are three of the biggest.
PIQUE UNDER PRESSURE
Gerard Pique
One player particularly under the microscope is Gerard Pique, who continued his poor start to the season with a questionable piece of defending for Valencia’s goal in the 1-1 draw at Mestalla just before the international break.
After that game Pique angrily argued a vendetta is being carried out against him and that he will enjoy the last laugh, but then provoked further headlines by using the two-week break as an opportunity to fly to Shanghai and promote his new tennis tournament rather than staying at home to rest and refocus.
For an outgoing and ambitious individual like Pique, who has always had plenty of personal interests away from the football field, it could well be the case that a change in scenery and a chance to escape the pressures of his job was exactly what he needed.
But he has left himself wide open to accusations he is not devoting enough time or mental energy to recovering his form, and any further lapses will be eagerly seized upon by his growing number of detractors.
An injury to Thomas Vermaelen during the international break and Samuel Umtiti’s ongoing absence has left Barca with only two fit central defenders, with Pique set to line up alongside former Sevilla man Clement Lenglet for the next few weeks.
So there’s more pressure than ever on Pique to assume the role of a leader – it’s time for him to put up or shut up.
MAN-MARKING FOR MESSI?
Lionel Messi
Reports in the Spanish media this week have claimed that Sevilla boss Pablo Machin is considering employing the same man-marking tactics he famously used against Lionel Messi during a meeting last season between Barca and his former club Girona.
On that occasion, Pablo Maffeo was tasked with following the Argentine star wherever he went, and the dogged extent with which Maffeo stuck to his task – getting only ten touches of the ball – made international headlines.
And although Barca won the game, Messi was kept much quieter than usual with just one shot on target, and the relative success of the strategy is reportedly prompting Machin to consider a similar system with his new team.
However, that would force a major change in approach for Sevilla, whose start to the season has been notable for a positive, attacking style of play which has yielded 18 goals in eight league games plus another 23 in eight Europa League contests.
That forward-thinking attitude was also very much evident in Sevilla’s 3-0 victory over Real Madrid last month, and it will be fascinating to see how the league leaders confront their task on Saturday night.
ARTHUR, COUTINHO OR DEMBELE TO MISS OUT?
France’s forward Ousmane Dembele
A big question for Barca boss Ernesto Valverde is who should accompany Messi and Luis Suarez, with perhaps only Sergio Busquets guaranteed to claim one of the other four places in the front six.
Ivan Rakitic is also extremely likely to play against his former club, leaving two places for Arthur, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.
In recent weeks the Brazilians have been the favoured choices with Dembele fading from a bright start of the season to be restricted to the bench in the last two games.
However, the French winger should be in a better physical shape after a short journey to his native land during the international break whereas Arthur and Coutinho both played the full 90 minutes in Brazil’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in Jeddah on Tuesday.
Valverde could also be influenced by the hectic schedule that lies ahead, with his team due to face Inter Milan on Wednesday and Real Madrid next Sunday, and his need to rotate his squad may be another factor in Dembele’s favour.
