Barcelonavs.Betis

The Blaugrana dispatched Barbastro to reach the last 16, while Betis saw off second-tier Huesca in their most recent Copa del Rey outing.

Match preview

Barcelona will be in a celebratory mood after they swept past Real Madrid for the second time this season to win the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The Blaugrana, who cruised to a 4-0 win in October's Clasico, cruised to a 5-2 victory in Sunday's final against their arch-rivals despite the fact they conceded first and played over half an hour with 10 men.

Lamine Yamal produced a Messi-esque effort to cancel out Kylian Mbappe's opener, before Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Alejandro Balde all found the net to effectively clinch the silverware before the referee had even blown the half-time whistle.

Raphinha scored his second and Barcelona's fifth within three minutes of the restart, and while Rodrygo pulled a goal back following Wojciech Szczesny's red card, the Blaugrana saw out the remainder of the contest with minimum fuss to claim their 15th Spanish Super Cup.

After securing the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era, the Catalan giants will now return home for Wednesday's cup tie against Betis, with the hosts set to face a much tougher test than they did in their 4-0 win over fourth-tier Barbastro.

Barcelona had to settle for a 2-2 draw in December's away league game against Betis, but they will take confidence from the fact they recorded emphatic victories in their last two home meetings, easing to a 4-0 win in April 2023 before cruising to a 5-0 victory in September of the same year.

However, the Blaugrana have found it tough going in recent outings at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, having lost each of their last three home matches since they beat Brest 3-0 in the Champions League at the end of November.

While Barcelona will be favourites to progress from Wednesday's cup tie, Betis will be determined to surprise their hosts to keep their hopes alive of winning the Copa del Rey for the fourth time in their history.

Los Verdiblancos kicked off their latest cup journey with victories over Gevora and Sant Andreu, before they squeezed past second-tier Huesca in the third round earlier this month, with Isco netting the decisive goal in a narrow 1-0 win.

Unfortunately for Betis, they came out the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline in Saturday's away league clash against relegation-threatened Real Valladolid.

Kike Perez's 58th-minute effort proved enough to condemn Manuel Pellegrini's troops to a narrow defeat, leaving them with just one win to show from their last eight La Liga matches (D4, L3).

The result also represented their third defeat in four top-flight away league games, ensuring they finished the weekend in 10th position and five points adrift of the top six.

Betis will now put their underwhelming league campaign on hold to focus on Wednesday's trip to Catalonia, with the visitors looking to beat Barcelona for the first time since recording a 1-0 away win in a La Liga encounter in December 2021.

A victory on Wednesday would see Los Verdiblancos progress to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2021-22 when they went all the way to win the Copa del Rey with a penalty shootout win over Valencia in the final.

Barcelona Copa del Rey form:

W

Barcelona form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

W

W

Real Betis Copa del Rey form:

W

W

W

Real Betis form (all competitions):

W

W

W

D

W

L

Team News

Barcelona are still unable to call upon goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and midfielder Marc Bernal, who are both sidelined with long-term knee injuries.

Inigo Martinez has joined Barcelona's absentee list after he was taken off with a hamstring injury in the first half of Sunday's Spanish Super Cup final.

Ronald Araujo is set to replace Martinez in central defence despite being linked with a potential winter move to Italian giants Juventus.

Flick will also be forced into a change in goal, with Inaki Pena ready to come for Szczesny, who is set to serve a one-match ban following his dismissal against Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Giovani Lo Celso will miss the midweek cup tie after he picked up a muscle injury in Saturday's defeat to Real Valladolid.

Defender Hector Bellerin and forward Chimy Avila are currently sidelined through injury, while midfielder William Carvalho remains a long-term absentee.

Marc Roca and Pablo Fornals took part in training on Monday as they look to prove their fitness in time to feature in the matchday squad.

Barcelona loanee Vitor Roque started in December's league meeting against his parent club, and he could return to the starting lineup for Wednesday's clash after dropping down to the bench at the weekend.

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

Pena; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Vieites; Ruibal, Llorente, Bartra, Perraud; Altimira, Cardoso; Ruibal, Isco, Ezzalzouli; Roque

We say: Barcelona 3-1 Real Betis

Written by

Ben Sully

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