Barcelona and Real Betis sqare off in a La Liga fixture on Saturday with both teams struggling to find their best form in recent weeks. The Catalans will be relying on their record at Camp Nou and should have the edge over Betis, who have been particularly woeful on their travels.
Barcelona missed the chance to open a 14-point gap at the top La Liga as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano in their previous fixture. The Catalans fell two goals down before Robert Lewandowski pulled one back seven minutes from time.
That result was a continuation of Barcelona’s recent struggles as they have won just once in their last five matches across all competitions. The good news is that Real Madrid have also found things difficult lately, which means Xavi’s men remain well on course to claim the title as they are still 11 points clear at the top of the standings.
Despite their recent struggles, Barcelona are still unbeaten at Camp Nou in La Liga and claimed a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in their previous home fixture. That run has been driven by a solid defence which has kept clean sheets in six of the last seven home matches.
Real Betis still have plenty to play for this season as they continue to push for a top four finish. They are currently fifth on the table, six points off the Champions League places and with seven games left to play, there is still enough time to make a late push.
The problem for Real Betis is that they have found things difficult lately with just two wins in their last 10 matches across all competitions. They have been beaten five times in that run but played out a 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad in their previous La Liga fixture.
Real Betis have also struggled on their recent travels and are winless in their last four away matches across all competitions. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have suffered three defeats in that run and were beaten 3-2 at Osasuna in their previous fixture in the road.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 3/10 by Paddy Power. A victory for Real Betis is valued at 9/2 with bet365 while Unibet is offering odds of 4/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Barcelona have a 35-10 advantage with nine draws from 54 previous matches against Real Betis. The Catalans claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in January with Robert Lewandowski getting one of the goals.
Players to watch
In the midst of their recent struggles, Barcelona have maintained their solid defensive record, particularly at Camp Nou. Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo should continue at the back and can lead the Catalans to a seventh clean sheet in their last eight home matches at 20/21 with Coral.
While the defeat at Rayo Vallecano was disappointing, one positive for Barcelona is Robert Lewandowski rediscovering his scoring touch. The striker now has 18 La Liga goals and is priced at 8/11 by bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Barcelona’s defensive showings at Camp Nou, BTTS NO could be on the cards on Saturday at 4/5 with BetVictor. The Catalans have seen under 2.5 goals in four of their last five home matches and a similar outcome is priced at 6/5 with bet365.
Barcelona have won to nil in six of their last seven home matches and could be set for a repeat at 6/5 with Coral.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Real Betis will be played on Apr 29, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Real Betis prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
