Arguably the pick of the action in La Liga's latest set of matches will come in Seville on Sunday evening, with Real Betis welcoming Barcelona for what is shaping up to be an intriguing contest.
Real Betis are currently seventh in the La Liga table, boasting 31 points from their opening 20 matches of the season, while Barcelona are fourth, eight points behind leaders Girona with a game in hand.
Match preview
© Reuters
Real Betis will enter this weekend's match off the back of a huge 1-0 success over Granada in La Liga last weekend, with Isco netting the only goal of the contest in the 76th minute.
The victory was the team's first in Spain's top flight since the end of November, with too many draws occurring in recent weeks, but Manuel Pellegrini's side have still been difficult to beat, losing just one of their last 15 league matches, which dates back to the middle of September.
The Green and Whites have been the draw specialists in La Liga this season alongside Mallorca, sharing the points in 10 of their 20 matches, recording seven wins and suffering just three defeats.
Real Betis currently sit seventh in the table, one point behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, while they are 10 from fourth-placed Barcelona ahead of Sunday's contest in Seville.
Pellegrini's side are unbeaten at home in the league this season, winning six and drawing four of their 10 matches in front of their own fans, but they will be welcoming a Barcelona outfit that are unbeaten away from home in Spain's top flight this term, which adds to the intrigue surrounding this game.
© Reuters
Barcelona boss Xavi came out fighting after the 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final last weekend, insisting that he still has the full support of the dressing room at the club.
There was major pressure on the Catalan outfit to bounce back in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, and they actually fell behind to third-tier outfit Unionistas in the 31st minute of the last-16 tie, but goals from Ferran Torres, Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde ultimately secured a 3-1 success for the Spanish champions.
Barcelona have not been in La Liga action since a 2-1 success over Las Palmas on January 4, and they currently sit fourth in the table, level on points (41) with third-placed Athletic Bilbao and eight behind the leaders Girona, with both sides playing a game more than Xavi's team.
Despite the form of Girona and Athletic, Barcelona will still view Real Madrid as their main challengers for the title this season, and Carlo Ancelotti's side have a seven-point advantage over their Clasico rivals, on the same number of matches, which is a lot at this stage of the campaign.
The visitors have actually won their last four league games against Real Betis, including a 5-0 success earlier this season, while they recorded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding contest last season.
Team News
© Reuters
Real Betis will definitely be missing Aitor Ruibal, Ayoze Perez and Hector Bellerin for this match through injury, while Juan Miranda, Guido Rodriguez, Claudio Bravo and Marc Bartra are all doubts.
There are further absentees in the shape of Chadi Riad, Youssouf Sabaly and Abde Ezzalzouli due to their involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations, so Pellegrini's squad is stretched at this moment in time.
Assane Diao and Pablo Busto are both in line for starts due to the injuries which were suffered by Perez and Ruibal in the 1-0 win over Granada last time out, but Willian Jose will continue through the middle, while the defensive absentees should mean another start for 35-year-old Sokratis Papastathopoulos.
As for Barcelona, Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo will both return to the squad after serving suspensions in the Copa del Rey contest with Unionistas last time out.
However, the Catalan outfit remain without the services of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Joao Cancelo, Marcos Alonso, Inigo Martinez, Gavi and Raphinha due to injury problems.
There will be changes from the side that started in the Copa del Rey, with Ilkay Gundogan, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri certain to return, while Yamal could be rewarded with a spot on the right.
Ferran Torres was on the scoresheet against Unionistas, meanwhile, and he is expected to be given the nod over Joao Felix, who is struggling to impress at this moment in time.
Andreas Christensen had to be replaced against Unionistas due to a muscular problem, and the Denmark international has now been ruled out of this game.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Busto, Pezzella, Papastathopoulos, Abner; Roca, Guardado; Henrique, Isco, Diao; Willian Jose
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Pena; Roberto, Araujo, Kounde, Balde; F de Jong, Gundogan, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Torres
We say: Real Betis 1-1 Barcelona
Real Betis' absentees for this match meant that we were incredibly close to predicting a Barcelona win on Sunday. The Catalan outfit are also missing some key players, though, and we are finding it difficult to back them with any real confidence, ultimately settling on a low-scoring draw in Seville.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
