'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barcelona are back in La Liga action on Sunday, as the Catalans host Sevilla at the Camp Nou what already has the feel of a crucial game for Barcelona.
New coach Ronald Koeman has overseen two wins in his first two competitive games in charge. A third straight win is sure to further lift the mood around the Catalan club, who have been through crisis after crisis over the summer.
Sevilla have also won both their league games so far, having also, like Barcelona, started their league campaign later than most of the other teams. The defending Europa League champions beat Levante 1-0 in their last game, the same scoreline by which Barcelona got past Celta Vigo.
Trending
With Clement Lenglet suspended after being sent off in their last game, Barcelona might have trouble in the centre-back position. Ronaldo Araujo impressed against Celta, and should start this game.
We take a look at five key individual battles that will decide the outcome of this game.
#5 Frenkie de Jong vs Joan Jordan
In the absence of the now-departed Ever Banega, there is more responsibility on Jordan's shoulders to create from midfield for Sevilla.
He's got a tireless engine, and great technical ability, which makes him difficult to contain for oppositions. However, since Koeman's arrival, Frenkie de Jong has played in a much more natural deeper role in midfield.
De Jong has slotted alongside Sergio Busquets in a double pivot in front of the Barcelona defence. So, this is a battle that Jordan will have to have the better of, if Sevilla want to take home a result from the Nou Camp.
For De Jong, he has shown promising signs already of linking up well with Philippe Coutinho in midfield, along with Busquets as well. His role of ensuring that Barcelona set the right tempo and that the passing is crisp and quick enough, is a big role in the system that Koeman is trying to play.
#4 Ansu Fati v Jesus Navas
This is a straightforward head-to-head battle to look forward to. Ansu Fati has already scored three La Liga goals in two games this season, and is already shaping up to be one of Koeman's most important players in the squad.
Fati has found an understanding with both Coutinho and Griezmann, and is giving Koeman an option to end the team's over-dependence on the talismanic Lionel Messi.
Now, Navas has been playing at right-back for more than a year now, but the fact still remains that he isn't natural in that position. The pace and dribbling ability that Fati has, needs to be contained, and Navas might not find it to be the easiest game for him.
He needs help from the winger in front him, or maybe even the defensive midfielder, which is likely to be Fernando.
#3 Sergio Busquets vs Ivan Rakitic
Busquets has recovered some sort of form in the first two league games of the season, after a disappointing 2019-20 campaign.
On Sunday, he will come up against a familiar face in Ivan Rakitic, who faces the Catalans for the first time, since ending a six-year stay with Barcelona this summer, to re-join Sevilla.
Rakitic is likely to be the one tasked with playing the final killer pass through to the likes of Lucas Ocampos and the other attackers. Busquets, in his prime, was trusted by his managers to shut down passing lanes for the opposition, and then help Barcelona build attacks with his sensational passing ability.
If he can do that against Rakitic in this game, it will give Koeman plenty of encouragement for the rest of the season ahead.
#2 Antoine Griezmann vs Jules Kounde
Griezmann has been used in an advanced central role this season, just as Koeman had promised during the friendlies that Barcelona played prior to the start of the season.
His ability to interchange positions, with the likes of Messi and Coutinho makes him so tough to defend against, and this is why Kounde will have a big task on his hands on Sunday.
Griezmann, in the first two games, played very well as the link player between the rest of the Barca front four. Even though the actual end-product was missing from Griezmann, his work as an enabler for Coutinho has helped the Brazilian find two assists in as many games - both for Fati.
Kounde, who is set to remain at Sevilla for the season, following a lot of transfer speculation, will have his task cut out.
#1 Gerard Pique vs Luuk de Jong
With Lenglet suspended, Pique needs to take responsibility and step up as the leader of the Barcelona defence. Young Ronald Araujo impressed against Celta Vigo, but even so, Pique will have to guide the 21-year-old through the tough moments he is bound to face.
Everyone knows the nature of the threat that is posed by Luuk de Jong. His aerial ability is unmatched, and as he showed in the Europa League final, you cannot leave him unmarked in the box.
Barcelona have two options to counter that - one would be stop crosses from coming into the box, but that is a difficult avenue to completely shut out.
The other alternative that Barcelona have to stop De Jong from hurting them is for Pique to take responsibility and fight with the Dutch striker to win the aerial duels.
