In a top three clash in La Liga, Barcelona travelled to face Sevilla in a game which had plenty riding on it but would ultimately end in a 0-0 draw with few chances for either side as they cancelled each other out with neither willing to take risks.
The result would mean that Real Madrid could regain ground in the race for the La Liga title as they beat Real Sociedad at the other end of the country 48 hours later while Sevilla also dropped into fourth.
This tactical analysis will consider the tactics of Quique Setiéns Barcelona and Julen Lopeteguis Sevilla. The analysis will explain how the two coaches did battle tactically, though neither was ready to gamble on getting the three points for their side.
Line-Ups
Lopetegui fielded his strongest available line-up in a 4-2-3-1 which would actuallly look more like a form of 5-4-1 for much of the tie. Fernando would drop into the backline regularly with Óliver Torres operating as the second central midfielder alongside Joan Jordán.
Setiéns biggest surprise in the line-up was his decision to select Martin Braithwaite ahead of Antoine Griezmann, who would come on as a late subsitute in a move that the coach claimed was intended to add pace in attack. Again, the coach would not use all of his changes up, having recently claimed that it damaged his teams chances by disrupting their rhythm.
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