Barcelona striker Luis Suarez. (Photo : Reuters)
A Lionel Messi-less FC Barcelona (5-1-0, 15 points) will try to get back on their La Liga 2015-2016 pedestal as they face lowly Sevilla (1-3-2, 5 points) at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium in Seville on October 3, Saturday.
Barça lost their team captain and inspirational leader, Messi, after he tore the lateral collateral ligament of his left knee during the team's 2-1 win over Las Palmas at the Camp Nou last Saturday.
The 2009 Ballon d'Or and three-time FIFA Ballon d'Or winner will reportedly be sidelined for seven to eight weeks, according to BBC Sport.
Striker Luis Suarez carried the offensive load for Barcelona after Messi's injury as he scored a double at the 25th and 54th minutes.
Meanwhile, Sevilla finally got their first win of the season against middling squad Rayo Vallecano, 3-2, also last Saturday at their home stadium, as reported by ESPN.
Unai Emery's boys would like to carry over the momentum of their win and take advantage of the absence of Messi to try and steal one against the Catalonia giants.
Luis Enrique still has Suarez and Neymar, though, and the two seems to be more than enough to avoid a loss and a further drop in the overall standings.
The prediction is a tight 1-0 win for Barcelona. Suarez will again score for Barça as Neymar applies pressure against the Sevillistas.
Sevilla starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Rico; Coke, Andreolli, Kolodziejczak, Trémoulinas; N'Zonzi, Blonbou; Reyes, Iborra, Krohn-Dehli; Gameiro
FC Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): ter Stergen; Roberto, Pique, Bartra, Adriano; Rakitic, Busquets, Mascherano; Suarez, Neymar, Sandro
