Sevilla include Nasri in squad for Barcelona match

Despite suffering a hamstring injury just last weekend, Samir Nasri could yet feature against Barcelona in Sunday evening's LaLiga clash. Jorge Sampaoli has included him in his 18-man squad and the player will undergo a late fitness test on the day of the game.

"It remains to be seen if he can play from the start, even if this is the desire of the player," a club statement explained. "His status will be confirmed [on Sunday], after a final test and once all of the information has been gathered."

Gabriel Mercado, however, will definitely miss the match as he is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the season in Gijon. As such, the only changes to the midweek Champions League squad are Nasri's introduction and Mercado's absence. The full squad is as follows: Sergio Rico, Salvatore Sirigu, Mariano, Daniel Carrico, Matias Kranevitter, Luciano Vietto, Samir Nasri, Vicente Iborra, Wissam Ben Yedder, Hiroshi Kiyotake, Steven N'Zonzi, Joaquin Correa, Sergio Escudero, Paulo Henrique Ganso, Vitolo, Pablo Sarabia, Adil Rami, Franco Vazquez.Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan has always been a stadium Lionel Messi is particularly fond of, putting in some memorable Barcelona performances there, and he'll hope to continue his goalscoring record at the ground on Sunday. Atletico Madrid, Valencia and Real Madrid are some of the other teams Messi is most deadly against, but with 26 goals in 25 games, few other sides have suffered as much from his efficiency as the Andalusians.

Teams Messi has scored the most against

1. Sevilla: 26 goals in 28 games
2. Atletico Madrid: 25 goals in 31 games
3. Valencia: 22 goals in 25 games
4. Real Madrid: 21 goals in 32 games

That being said, Sevilla were able to defeat Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan last season, and Messi's injury certainly played a part, as the Blaugrana have never lost there when the Argentine was on the pitch. Curiously enough, Sevilla are the favourite victims of Cristiano Ronaldo as well. Since returning from injury the Barcelona No. 10 has scored seven goals in just five games, and his numbers against Los Rojiblancos are certainly a solid precedent, as the Blaugrana have little margin for error on Sunday and will need his leadership and goals.