BARCELONA were able to snap a winless streak of form in midweek with a victory over Mallorca. Can they follow up on a trip to mid-table Real Betis? Here we preview Real Betis vs Barcelona from La Liga on Saturday, December 7th from Estadio Benito Villamarin.
How the bookies view it: Barca favourites in testing trip.
The bookmakers have Barcelona as the 3/5 odds-on favourites for Sunday's clash against Real Betis. That's quite strong favouritism considering they have only won one of their last four. But Real Betis have slumped to four without a win and the 15/4 underdogs are starting their third straight defeat in the face.
Recent head-to-head: Barcelona bouncing against Betis
Barcelona have won the last five league meetings with Real Betis since a 1-0 home upset at the Nou Camp back in December 2021. Last season, Barcelona outscored Betis 9-2 in their two league meetings. Each of the last three league clashes have gone above 3.5 goals, and there have been at least three goals in each of the last six meetings across all competitions. At home, Betis have lost their last seven against Barcelona and haven't won a La Liga home game against the Catalans since March 2008.
Players to watch: Pau Victor could be one to watch late on
La Liga top scorer Robert Lewandowski was rested in Barcelona's midweek 5-1 win against Mallorca. But he's expected to be back leading the line on the weekend and with a fresh pair of legs, should be a threat up front and is the first goalscorer favourite.
Raphinha kept up his strong scoring form with a brace in midweek and should be in the thick of things. If things are going well for Barcelona late on in the game, look for an influence from Pau Victor off the bench after scoring in midweek.
The most likely route to goal for Real Betis is Vitor Roque, who has permission to play against his parent club. The youngster is the second-highest top-scorer for Betis this season behind Giovani Lo Celso who hasn't scored in the league since September.
Predicted Lineups
Betis are still struggling with a long list of absentees including Nobel Mendy, Marc Roca, William Carvalho and Isco but could have Pablo Fornals back fit. Barcelona have a chink of players out as well such as Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but have much better squad depth than Betis.
Real Betis: Silva; Sabaly, Bartra, Llorente, Perraud; Guirao, Altimira; Fornals, Lo Celso, Ezzalzouli; Roque
Barcelona: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Pedri, Casado; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Anything else catches the eye?
There has not been a La Liga draw between Real Betis and Barcelona since 2017, and it's unlikely that one will happen on the weekend. Real Betis hold a W4 D2 L1 home record this season, and while they did beat Atlético Madrid, their other three wins came against teams 15th or lower only.
The Green and Whites have failed to win any of their last four league games and have shipped at least two goals in each of their last three. That's trouble for a team that only averages 1.07 goals per season, although that's up at 1.43 per home game on average.
Barcelona have made hard work of things recently, with a W1 D1 L2 record in their last four, including a shock defeat against Las Palmas at the end of November. But they were back to their best with a 5-1 win at Mallorca in midweek, moving them to a W7 D1 L2 road record, which is the best in the league. Barcelona average 2.9 goals per road game in this campaign.
This La Liga match between Real Betis and Barcelona will be played on Dec 7, 2024 and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Real Betis vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
