Who: Real Betis vs Barcelona
What: Spain’s La Liga
Where: Estadio Benito Villamarin in Seville, Spain
When: Saturday, December 6 at 6:30pm (17:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 14:30 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
Defending champions Barcelona travel to Real Betis on Saturday with the chance to extend their lead to four points at the top of the La Liga table, with second-placed Real Madrid not playing Celta Vigo until Sunday.
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It has been a mixed period of results for the Catalan giants, however, and Betis are a side riding the crest of last season’s wave, which saw them reach the Europa Conference final.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at what could be the latest stern test for Hansi Flick’s Barca.
What is Barcelona’s record in La Liga this season?
Barca completed a fifth straight league win with their 3-1 victory against title hopefuls Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
That result moved the Catalans four points clear, only for Real Madrid to close the gap back to one point with their win against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
Flick’s side had suffered a blip when they lost three matches in five games, culminating in October’s Clasico defeat at Real Madrid. It was only their second league defeat of the season and preceded the five-match winning streak in La Liga, which has netted 17 goals in that time with only five conceded.
What is Real Betis’s record in La Liga this season?
Betis are unbeaten in eight matches in all competitions – winning six – which has helped propel the Seville-based club to fifth in La Liga. The gap to the top four – and the Champions League qualification spots – is 11 points, however, making this game in hand on those above crucial for their ambitions this season.
Their last defeat came against the team immediately above them, Atletico Madrid, who won 2-0 in Seville in October. That is Betis’s only defeat in 17 matches in all competitions, of which they have won 10.
The game in hand for Betis follows their participation in the Copa del Rey in midweek, which saw them advance with a 4-1 win at Torrent of the Spanish third division.
Have Real Betis ever won La Liga?
Real have lifted the La Liga title once, in 1934-1935. They have, however, lifted the Copa del Rey title on three occasions – the last of which came in 2022.
The seven-time winners of the Spanish second division were runners-up to Chelsea in last season’s Europa Conference.
What happened the last time Real Betis played Barcelona?
The teams last met in La Liga in April in Barcelona with the La Liga fixture ending in a 1-1 draw.
Gavi gave the home side the lead in the fifth minute and the scoring was complete after only 17 minutes when Natan levelled for Betis.
The reverse fixture at Barcelona this season is currently scheduled to be the penultimate game of the La Liga campaign.
What happened in the corresponding fixture last season?
The La Liga match in Seville last season ended in a 2-2 draw on December 7.
Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres twice gave the away side the lead with Betis levelling through Giovani Lo Celso’s 68th-minute penalty and Assane Diao’s 90th-minute strike.
When did Barcelona last beat Real Betis?
In between the two La Liga matches last season, the sides met in the Copa del Rey in Barcelona.
The home side claimed a 5-1 victory in the January fixture with goals from Gavi, Jules Kounde, Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal all settling the tie before Vitor Roque’s consolation penalty in the 84th minute.
When did Real Betis last beat Barcelona?
Real Betis last beat Barcelona in 2021 in a league match in the Catalan capital. Juanmi, now with Getafe, netted the only goal in the 79th minute.
Stat attack – Real Betis
Betis have only lost twice this season, but both those defeats came at home. They have won four games at home, while two wins have been recorded in their seven unbeaten league matches on the road.
They are also unbeaten in their last four La Liga games, winning two.
Stat attack – Barcelona
Barcelona have also lost two league games this season, with both defeats coming on the road.
While all eight home matches have resulted in victories, Barca have found their travels more difficult with 16 goals scored and 12 conceded in their seven away games, of which they have won four.
Of their last five away games in all competitions, the Flick’s side have lost three and drawn one – they have also conceded 14 goals in that run on the road.
Head-to-head – Real Betis vs Barcelona
This is the 71st meeting between the sides with Barcelona winning on 38 occasions and Betis claiming the spoils from 10 of the meetings.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Betis across all competitions, winning six of those games.
Real Betis team news
Former Manchester United forward Antony returns to the side from suspension. There are injury doubts surrounding Sofyan Amrabat and Giovani Lo Celso, while Hector Bellerin and Isco are both confirmed absentees due to injury problems.
Former Barcelona attacker Abde Ezzalzouli is expected to return to the side after wholesale changes were made to the team for Tuesday’s Copa del Rey win at Torrent.
Barcelona team news
Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Gavi are joined on the injury list by Fermin Lopez and Dani OImo, who picked up knocks in the last match.
Ronald Araujo remains absent while he takes a break from football.
Frenkie de Jong is set to return to the midfield, having missed the win against Atletico Madrid due to illness.
Real Betis predicted lineup
Valles; Ruibal, Natan, Bartra, Gomez; Altimira, Roca; Antony, Fornals, Ezzalzouli; Hernandez
Barcelona predicted lineup
J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde; De Jong, E Garcia; Yamal, Pedri, Raphinha; Lewandowski