Betisvs.Barcelona

Barcelona are currently top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand, while Real Betis sit in 10th position, having only picked up 20 points from 15 matches this term.

Match preview

Real Betis have won five, drawn five and lost five of their 15 La Liga matches this season, with a total of 20 points leaving them in 10th spot in the table, four points behind sixth-placed Mallorca.

Manuel Pellegrini's side have had problems when it comes to finding the back of the net this term, only managing 16 in their 15 league fixtures, but they have only conceded 18, which is a relatively solid defensive record.

The Green and Whites will enter this match off the back of a 3-1 victory over Sant Andreu, which has secured their spot in the third round of the Copa del Rey, but they have lost their last two in the league against Valencia and Real Sociedad.

Real Betis were also beaten 2-1 by Mlada Boleslav in the Conference League at the end of November, with a total of four points from four matches leaving them down in 22nd spot in the overall table.

Los Verderones finished seventh in La Liga last term and will be expecting to challenge for a European spot once again this term, but they have struggled for consistency in the opening months of the 2024-25 campaign.

Barcelona were back to their best on Tuesday, thumping Mallorca 5-1, with Raphinha scoring twice, while Ferran Torres, Frenkie de Jong and Pau Victor also registered for Flick's team.

The Catalan outfit entered the clash off the back of a shock 2-1 home loss to Las Palmas, but they bounced back impressively earlier this week and are now on 37 points from their 16 league matches, which has left them top of the table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who still have a game in hand.

Barcelona have a record of 12 wins, one draw and three defeats from their 16 league matches this season, while they have been comfortably the best attacking side in the division this term, finding the back of the net on 48 occasions.

Flick's side have the best away record in La Liga this season, picking up 22 points from their 10 matches, but they will be heading to a Real Betis side that have lost just one of their seven league games in front of their own supporters in 2024-25.

Barcelona are on a six-game winning run against Real Betis in all competitions; not since March 2008 have the Catalan side lost to Real Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarin, meanwhile, and they are unbeaten against Sunday's opponents since December 2021.

Real Betis La Liga form:

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W

D

D

L

L

Real Betis form (all competitions):

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D

L

L

L

W

Barcelona La Liga form:

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W

L

D

L

W

Barcelona form (all competitions):

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D

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W

Team News

Vitor Roque is eligible to face his parent club this weekend, so the 19-year-old is set to lead the Real Betis line.

The Brazilian, who joined Real Betis on loan from Barcelona over the summer, has scored five times in 18 appearances for Pellegrini's side, while he managed two during his first 16 outings for his parent side.

Pablo Fornals should recover from a muscular injury to feature in the starting side, but Johnny Cardoso, Nobel Mendy, Hector Bellerin, Marc Roca, William Carvalho and Isco are on the sidelines.

There will be a number of changes to the side that started in the Copa del Rey last time out, including a spot in a wide area for Abde Ezzalzouli, who was with Barcelona between 2021 and 2023.

As for Barcelona, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ronald Araujo will once again miss out, but the Catalan team have no fresh concerns from their clash with Mallorca.

Robert Lewandowski was rested against Mallorca due to the volume of matches, but the Poland international, who has scored 15 times in La Liga this season, will return in the final third here, with Torres set to drop to the bench.

De Jong, Gavi and Fermin Lopez are options when it comes to potentially freshening the midfield, but Lewandowski for Torres could be the only change from the clash with Mallorca, with Alejandro Balde set to continue at left-back.

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Silva; Sabaly, Bartra, Llorente, Perraud; Guirao, Altimira; Fornals, Lo Celso, Ezzalzouli; Roque

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

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

We say: Real Betis 1-2 Barcelona

There has not actually been a league draw between these two sides since January 2017; we were close to picking a stalemate here, but Barcelona have largely been excellent on their travels this term, and we are backing Flick's side to navigate their way to all three points in order to strengthen their spot at the summit.

Written by

Matt Law

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