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Barcelona vs Sevilla: Spanish Super Cup preview

By Robert Barter

SEVILLA, SPAIN - MARCH 31: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between Sevilla v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on March 31, 2018 in Sevilla Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)
SEVILLA, SPAIN - MARCH 31: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona during the La Liga Santander match between Sevilla v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on March 31, 2018 in Sevilla Spain (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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Barcelona get their season officially underway opposite Sevilla in the one-legged Spanish Supercup final in Tangier, Morocco.

With a solid pre-season behind them, Barcelona kick their new season off in the Spanish Supercup final against last season’s Copa Del Rey runners-up Sevilla. Normally contested over two home and away legs, this season’s final is a one-off game held on neutral ground in Morocco due to schedule issues with Barca’s pre-season.

With the last contest between the two sides being won 5-0 by Barcelona in the aforementioned Copa final, expect a closer affair this time around as both sides are still looking to get up to speed for the new campaign.

Main stars return

While the pre-season tour of the United States saw chances given largely to fringe players, opportunities may now come few and far between as competitive games get underway. Barcelona recently announced that Valverde will bring the whole squad to Tangier – including Barca B players Riqui Puig and Juan Miranda – meaning a strong starting XI will likely be fielded.

This match marks the first game Lionel Messi has played since Argentina’s dramatic World Cup loss to France, while fellow World Cup stars Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are also back. Suarez is in line to start, but the other three are expected to be left out of the starting line-up, at the very least, due to their deep World Cup run.

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The inclusion of both Sergi Roberto and Denis Suárez is interesting. Roberto is carrying a suspension following the red card he picked up in last the Clásico last May, while Denis is still feeling the effects of the injury picked up against Tottenham two weeks ago.

On a more positive note, however, Sergi Samper has been included by Ernesto Valverde. Criminally over-looked for the last two seasons, Samper has remained incredibly loyal to the club and certainly deserves his chance in the first team. The club seems to favour Oriol Busquets, though, so he will likely be sold in the near future, no matter how well he performs if called upon.

Non EU dilemma resolved

Something that was causing Barcelona officials brief concern, the issue in regards to non EU players in our match day squads has now been resolved. The problem arose as the Spanish FA only allows a maximum of three non EU players in any given match squad, and Barcelona had six.

On transfer deadline day in England, Colombian centre-half Yerry Mina departed to Everton, meanwhile Philippe Coutinho has recently acquired Portuguese citizenship through his wife, freeing up a slot.

While that does still leave four, luckily for Barcelona, one is not in the coaches short-term plans. The player in question, Brazilian central defender Marlon Santos, was tipped for a loan move to English club Newcastle, but the move fell through as the club could not obtain a work permit. Marlon will now be forced to sit on the sidelines for the foreseeable future if he does not secure a move elsewhere.

But where Marlon will perish, Chilean Arturo Vidal and Brazilian duo Arthur and Malcolm will flourish. If Coutinho failed to receive his dual nationality, one of them faced being left out of each matchday squad. However, Valverde will now have no such selection headache for the season and can choose his squad of 18 freely.

One off tie may prove to be best option

With a good turnout of fans at the stadium in Morocco, the Spanish FA may feel obliged to make a permanent change to the Spanish Supercup and have it always contested over one leg at a neutral ground.

Its equivalent in England, the FA Community Shield, is contested at Wembley every year, and would there be anything to lose hosting the game at a venue in Spain annually, with stadia such as the Camp Nou, Wanda Metropolitano and the Santiago Bernabéu potential suitors.

One beneficiary of this would be to even the playing field somewhat. While no team gives 100% effort for this glorified friendly, if lower teams find themselves contesting opposite say Barcelona or Real Madrid, no matter how positive their result in the home leg, they will be swept aside comfortably away. Playing at a neutral venue may make it more of a contest.

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While it is a glorified friendly, games such as these provide Barca with the perfect chance to apply any finishing touches to their squad in preparation for the new league season that kicks off next week.