Barcelona can make it four wins from five games when they host Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday at Spotify Camp Nou. Xavi's men are on a three-game winning streak after drawing their opener which puts them two points behind Real Madrid who so far have a 100% winning record in the Spanish topflight. This weekend's visitors to Catalonia are Betis who are seventh in the table with seven points from a possible 12. The hosts will be looking to follow up wins over Cadiz, Villarreal and Osasuna with three more points while Manuel Pellegrini's visitors come into this one off the back of a win over Rayo Vallecano after beating Villarreal, drawing with Atletico Madrid and losing to Athletic Club. Both clubs are preparing for UEFA competition starting next week with Barca in the Champions League and Betis in the Europa League.
Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, September 16 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Spotify Camp Nou -- Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- TV/Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Barcelona -286; Draw: +400; Betis +750
Team news
Barcelona: Pedri and Ronald Araujo remain out for the Blaugrana while Ilkay Gundogan picked up an injury while away with Germany for the internationals so he could be rested ahead of the UCL. Also missing will be Fermin Lopez through suspension with the reserves although Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix could make their full debuts and Lamine Yamal should start once more.
Potential Barcelona XI: Ter Stegen; Cancelo, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Romeu, De Jong, Gavi; Yamal, Lewandowski, Felix.
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Betis: Aitor Ruibal, Luiz Henrique, Claudio Bravo, William Carvalho and Nabil Fekir are all injured at present while Luiz Felipe has also left for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. Marc Bartra could come in against his formative club while Willian Jose is likely to start over Borja Iglesias and Carvalho's injury could allow Marc Roca start alongside Guido Rodriguez in midfield.
Potential Betis XI: Silva; Bellerin, Pezzella, Bartra, Abner; Rodriguez, Roca; Rodri, Isco, Perez; Willian Jose.
Prediction
This one promises to be an exciting game and a good test for Barcelona before Champions League action gets underway. Betis are more than capable of making life difficult for Barca but might have too many absentees to truly hope for much more than a draw. Pick: Barcelona 2, Betis 1.
