Real Betis vs Barcelona: Blaugrana aim to extend solid lead

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Real Betis, Barcelona, La Liga

Barcelona will look to further extend their lead over the chasing pack when they travel to face Real Betis on Wednesday evening.

With a five-point lead over the rest of the pack, Barcelona will look to extend their advantage to eight points when they travel to face Real Betis on Wednesday. At the moment, Xavi's men have earned 47 points, with four wins from their last five La Liga ties and hold a decent five point advantage over Real Madrid, who will not be in action until Thursday.

Barcelona come into this match having earned a narrow 1-0 win over Girona, and overall, the Blaugrana have been in a purple patch of form dating back to October. Their frustrating 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich on October 26th during a Champions League home tie is the last time Xavi's side have lost a game, and since then, they have gone 13 matches across all competitions sans defeat. That includes wins in their eight most recent ties, and given that they have won eight of their last 10 visits to Real Betis's home ground, it's safe to say that the visitors will be confident of getting a good result on Wednesday evening.

A key part to Barcelona's success is thanks to the strong form of Robert Lewandowski, who is showing that his goal-scoring abilities are not only restricted to the Bundesliga. However, their defense, which has conceded just six goals all season deserves to earn its fair share of the plaudits as along the way, they have kept a whopping 14 clean sheets in La Liga, meaning that their upcoming hosts will certainly face a tough ask in order to get a result.

Or will they? Despite struggling to contain Barcelona, Real Betis have managed to score in their last nine meetings with the Blaugrana. Manuel Pellegrini's side currently sit in sixth place having battle to a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Getafe last round. They have won just three of their last nine league fixtures, but will be extra motivated to get some revenge on Barcelona, who beat them on penalties less than a month ago following a two-all draw in the Spanish Cup semi-finals.

All in all, the hosts will need to overcome a poor record that has seen them lose seven of their last eight matches against Barcelona, with their sole win being a 1-0 victory in December 2021 at the Camp Nou.

Team news: Real Betis vs Barcelona

Real Betis: The hosts are only missing Juan Cruz for this match, with the winger having been out since last year due to a hamstring injury.

Barcelona: Both Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres will be back from suspension, meaning that they will be able to be involved in the starting XI.

Match facts: Real Betis vs Barcelona

Barcelona have won eight of their last 10 visits to Real Betis's home ground
Real Betis have lost seven of their last eight La Liga matches against Barcelona
The Blaugrana have conceded just six goals all season