Barcelona vs Betis – News and Probable Lineups

The reigning La Liga champions, Barcelona, will be looking to get back to winning ways when they play against Real Betis in their second to last match of the 2025-26 season on Sunday evening.

Hansi Flick’s team faced a surprising 1-0 defeat to Alaves on Wednesday, while Real Betis, who have clinched the fifth position in the table and a spot in the Champions League, triumphed over Elche 2-1 in their previous match.

Match overview

Barcelona came into the midweek encounter with Alaves riding a wave of 11 successive victories in La Liga, the most recent being a 2-0 win against Real Madrid – a result that clinched the title with three matches remaining.

Head coach Flick made significant adjustments for the match against Alaves, which backfired as his team suffered a 1-0 defeat – marking their first league loss since mid-February.

While it is tough to be critical of Barcelona given their accomplishments this season, they will be eager to end the campaign with consecutive victories over Real Betis and Valencia.

Remarkably, Barcelona has won all 18 of their home league fixtures this season, netting 54 goals while conceding only nine, underscoring the challenge Real Betis faces in this match.

This season, Barcelona had previously bested Real Betis with a 5-3 scoreline in their earlier encounter, but their meeting at Camp Nou during the 2024-25 season ended in a 1-1 draw.

Real Betis will arrive at this fixture following a 2-1 victory against Elche and are unbeaten in the league since March 22, having won three of their last five games during a solid stretch.

Manuel Pellegrini’s team suffered disappointment in the quarter-finals of the Europa League against Braga, but they have secured a place in the upcoming Champions League through their La Liga performance, finishing fifth in the standings ahead of their last two matches.

This season, Real Betis has only lost seven out of their 36 league matches, boasting the fifth-best away record in the league with a total of 24 points from 18 games.

El Glorioso has only participated in the Champions League once before, highlighting the significance of their achievement, marking their second top-five finish since the 2004-05 season.

Real Betis has not managed to overcome Barcelona since claiming a 1-0 victory away in December 2021, although two of their last three matches have ended in draws.

Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Real Betis La Liga form:

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Real Betis form (all competitions):

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Team News

Barcelona will again be without Lamine Yamal, who is sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a hamstring issue, but the Espanha international is expected to be fit for the 2026 World Cup.

The hosts are otherwise in great condition, with Andreas Christensen returning after a long-term knee injury, and no new injury or suspension concerns arising from the match against Alaves.

Flick is likely to make sweeping changes for this matchup, with Joan Garcia, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martin, Joao Cancelo, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Fermin Lopez, and Ferran Torres all potentially entering the starting XI on Sunday night.

Raphinha is set to return to the squad after serving a suspension and is expected to play a role off the bench.

On the other hand, Real Betis will miss Marc Bartra, Angel Ortiz, and Aitor Ruibal due to injuries, while Cucho Hernandez and Diego Llorente are suspended for the visit to Camp Nou because of yellow cards received in the victory over Elche last time out.

Natan is anticipated to take Llorente’s place, while Cedric Bakambu should fill in for Hernandez in the attacking line.

Abde Ezzalzouli has been in terrific form recently, netting five goals and providing two assists in his last seven outings, and the 24-year-old is expected to face his former club on Sunday.

Barcelona probable starting XI:

J Garcia; Garcia, Araujo, Martin, Cancelo; Pedri, De Jong; Rashford, Gavi, Fermin; F Torres

Real Betis probable starting XI:

Lopez; Bellerin, Nathan, Gomez, Rodriguez; Altimira, Rock; Antony, Fidalgo, Ezzalzouli; Lambs

We considered going for a draw here, as Real Betis are quite difficult to defeat, but Barcelona’s home form this season has been exceptional, and we’re predicting that Flick’s squad will secure all three points this weekend.