Sevilla vs Barcelona - Sevilla could be title contenders, says Luis Enrique

Barcelona face one of their toughest LaLiga fixtures of the season when they go to Sevilla on Sunday evening on the back of their midweek defeat to Manchester City.

Sevilla boast a perfect record on home soil this season in both the Primera Division and the Champions League, with Wednesday night's 4-0 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb extending their record to seven wins from seven matches.

Jorge Sampaoli's men are now top of their Champions League group - two points clear of Italian champions Juventus - and started the weekend fourth in the Primera Division, knowing a win will lift them above Barca.

The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium has proved to be a fortress in recent weeks, with just one goal conceded by the Andalusians in their last five home matches.

Their recent form has led to suggestions they should be favourites heading into this match, although Sevilla's only home defeat this season came against Barcelona, who enjoyed a 2-0 win in the Super Cup in August.

That was one of four successive victories Barca have enjoyed in this fixture and they have not lost to Sevilla since October 2015, but coach Luis Enrique reckons his side are facing a potential title rival.

"It will be a difficult game as Sevilla are in a strong position," he said at his pre-match press conference. "To win we will need to get the upper hand in the individual battles all over the pitch.

"Sevilla have had a spectacular start to the season playing good football and they are very hard to beat at home. If they are in a strong league position it is because they deserve it and this will be a tough game against a difficult opponent.

"Sevilla have lots of people who can play through the middle, but they are also dangerous from the flanks with their full-backs. We will have to win the battles all over the pitch.

"Sevilla are a club that have a high turnover of players and this year they also have a new manager, but they are improving all the time. From what they have shown so far, Sevilla could be in with a chance of winning the league."

Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Andres Iniesta remain sidelined for Barcelona, but Sevilla could welcome back Samir Nasri after he missed Wednesday's game due to a hamstring injury.