Barcelona welcome Real Betis to Montjuic for a round of 16 tie in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.
The Catalan giants are still moving away from theirs The triumph of the Spanish Super Cup against Real Madrid on Sunday night, beating their eternal rivals 5-2 to claim the first trophy of Hansi Flick's tenure in style. The Betis will aim to bring their suddenly stranded hosts to Earth.
Manuel Pellegrini's side sit right in the middle La Liga table at the halfway stage of the season but held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw when the sides met in Seville in early December.
Barcelona vs Real Betis H2H record (last five matches)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Barcelona |
Real Betis |
|---|---|
|
Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona – 12/01/25 |
Real Valladolid 1-0 Real Betis – 11/01/25 |
|
Athletic Club 0-2 Barcelona – 08/01/25 |
Huesca 0-1 Real Betis – 04/11/25 |
|
Barbastro 0-4 Barcelona – 04/01/25 |
Real Betis 1-1 Rayo Vallecano – 22.12.24 |
|
Barcelona 1-2 Atletico Madrid – 21/12/24 |
Real Betis 1-0 HJK – 19/12/24 |
|
Barcelona 0-1 Leganes – 15.12.24 |
Villarreal 1-2 Real Betis – 15.12.24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live streaming |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A |
|
United States |
ESPN+, the ESPN app |
|
Canada |
N/A |
Barcelona lost centre-back Inigo Martinez to a thigh injury inside the opening half-hour on Sunday. The 5-2 beating of Real Madrid. The club confirmed that the veteran defender will be out for around four weeks, opening up a place in the back line alongside the steadfast presence of Pau Cubarsi.
Ronald Araujo is the most likely replacement, especially as Andreas Christensen linked with Manchester United remains aside.
Long-term absentees Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ansu Fati will also miss out, while – crucially – Dani Olmo is allowed to feature after earning a temporary registration.
Barcelona predicted the formation against Real Betis (4-2-3-1): regret; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; Peter, Married; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Pellegrini has a couple of missing injuries to juggle. The wily Chilean coach will be without tenacious striker Ezequiel Avila until the end of January. A midfield trio of Marc Roca (knee), Pablo Fornals (muscle) and William Carvalho (ACL) are also out.
Former Barcelona right-back Hector Bellerin has missed the last two-and-a-half months with a concussion and is set to sit out this potential reunion.
Real Betis predicted the formation against Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Vieites; Sabaly, Llorente, Nathan, Rodriguez; Altimira, Cardoso; Lo Celso, Isco, Abde; lambs
Once, when Vic Buckingham was manager of Barcelona in the late 1960s, his pre-match chat with the team consisted of writing the name of the opposition on the blackboard in the dressing room – 'BETIS' – then asking, “who is Betis? F*** Betis”, before to hit the blackboard. on the ground.
This modern iteration of Real Betis is not without their threat. Return Get out still has magic in his boots and is feeling his way back into the first team after missing the first four months of the season with a broken leg, while Giovani Lo Celso has scored an impressive seven goals from a midfield role offensive.
However, Flick will expect the same positive outcome as Buckingham – even if he adopts a less abrasive approach.