Blaugranes will seek to bounce back from their shock defeat to Rayo Vallecano during Barcelona vs Real Betis at the Camp Nou on Saturday.

Match Details:

• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Stadium: Camp Nou
• Date: Saturday 29 April
• Kick-off Time: 20:00 BST / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT
• Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande
• VAR: Santiago Jaime Latre

Barcelona vs Real Betis: Match Preview

Barcelona have had a real wobble in recent weeks, only winning one of their last five games in all competitions, picking up just five points from the last 12 available in Spain’s top flight.

However, Real Madrid are also having their domestic issues, so Xavi’s team remain in a commanding position at the top of the table, sitting 11 points clear of the reigning champions with seven games left.

Barcelona recorded a 1-0 win over an in-form Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday afternoon but were unable to build on that result, suffering a 2-1 loss to Rayo on Wednesday evening.

The Catalan outfit only have league football to focus on in the remaining weeks of the season following their exit to Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, and despite their disappointment in that competition and Europe, reclaiming the league title would be seen as a positive campaign.

Barcelona have the best home record in Spain’s top flight this season, picking up 39 points from 15 matches, and they will be welcoming a Real Betis outfit with the seventh-best away record, collecting 21 points from their 15 league fixtures on their travels in 2022-23.

The visitors have also struggled for results in recent weeks, which has seriously harmed their top-four chances. Indeed, Manuel Pellegrini’s side have only been victorious in one of their last five in the league, suffering three defeats in the process to Atletico, Cadiz and Osasuna.

Real Betis held Real Sociedad to a goalless draw on Tuesday night, but it was a better result for the Basque outfit, who remain fourth in the table, six points ahead of Pellegrini’s team in fifth.

The Green and Whites now have two difficult away games against Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao before returning to home soil against Rayo Vallecano in the middle of next month.

Real Betis will need to find some consistency late in the season in order to stand a chance of claiming a top-four finish for the first time since 2005.

El Glorioso have lost their last two league games against Barcelona, including a 2-1 defeat in the reverse match earlier this season, but they won 1-0 at Camp Nou in the corresponding fixture last term.

Team News:

Barcelona:

The big news for Barcelona is the returns of both Ousmane Dembele and Andreas Christensen to the matchday squad. The former has missed around three months with a thigh injury, while the latter has spent the past month recovering from his own injury, but both are back in contention.

Sergio Busquets is also back available after missing the Rayo game through suspension, leaving just Sergi Roberto as the team’s only absentee.

15-year-old Lamine Yamal remains in the squad and can still become Barcelona’s youngest-ever player if he features.

Real Betis:

Victor Ruiz, Juanmi, Youssouf Sabaly and Nabil Fekir all remain unavailable for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

The boss may opt to make some changes after going two games without a win, with top scorer Borja Iglesias likely to return and start.

Barcelona vs Real Betis: Head to Head:

Barcelona have an impressive recent record against Real Betis and have won 27 out of the last 44 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Real Betis’ nine victories.

Barcelona have won seven of their last eight matches at home against Real Betis in La Liga, with their previous defeat against the Andalusians coming at home last season.

After an unbeaten run of 16 games at home against Real Betis in La Liga, Barcelona have lost two of their last two such matches in the competition.

Predicted Line-ups:

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Alonso, Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gavi

Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Silva; Ruibal, Felipe, Pezzella, Miranda; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Perez, Canales, Henrique; Iglesias

FCB vs RB: Fantasy XI

Ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Pezzella, Miranda; De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Henrique; Iglesias