Barcelona vs. Real Betis: Match Preview
Barcelona look to end a bad week with good news and three points. The champions are desperate to get three points on the board and not give Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid head starts in the title race.
Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga
Date/Time: Sunday, August 25, 2019, 9pm CET (Barcelona)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: José Luis González González
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Ousmane Dembélé, Neto, Carles Aleñá, Moussa Wagué, Jean-Clair Todibo (out)
Real Betis Outs & Doubts: Joel Robles, Borja Iglesias (out)
Following a very disappointing 1-0 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the first La Liga game of the season, Barcelona are back in action with the first home match of the new campaign as they welcome Real Betis to the Greatest Stadium on Earth.
Having won 11 and lost none of their last 12 home games in the league, Barcelona are to return to form with a victory in front of their own fans.
Both teams lost on opening weekend; Barca fell 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Aritz Aduriz's late magical overhead kick, while Betis was stunned at home against Real Valladolid in the debut of Nabil Fekir.
Considering Betis’ investment over the summer, it is safe to say both teams come into this one under pressure; the visitors won at Camp Nou last season and should be good enough to at least come close to that again, and the hosts must respond after one of the worst non-football weeks in recent memory.
The days after Roma and Liverpool were terrible but they were caused by things on the pitch. Ousmane Dembélé may or may not have hidden a serious hamstring injury and may or may not have permanently damaged his relationship with the club and the fans.
Philippe Coutinho was loaned out for less than 10m euros when the club reportedly wanted 25 and Barça may or may have not violated a gentleman’s agreement with Bayern Munich to not disclose the terms of the deal, which is common in Germany.
The Neymar saga continues as Barça keep ignoring the fact PSG will never sell.
It is just a lot of bad news and uncertainty and unhappy comments sections everywhere, and to make things worse Lionel Messi is out against Betis despite training normally with the group for the last four days and really not trying to show the cameras he is at least trying to welcome Antoine Griezmann into the team.
Only a win and a strong performance will at least give Barca fans a reason to smile on Sunday.
Possible line-ups:
Barcelona (4-3-3):
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, De Jong; Rafinha, Griezmann, Pérez
Real Betis (4-2-3-1):
Martín; Emerson, Bartra, Sidnei, Pedraza; William, Guardado; Joaquín, Canales, Tello; Fekir
This is the second game of the season and a must-win match for Barcelona!
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