After their opening-day defeat to Athletic Club, Barca are looking to get their season up and running but will be without Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez
Barcelona will look to put the disappointment of opening-day defeat behind them as they look forward to their first home fixture of the new season with Real Betis.
This fixture last season produced an instant classic as Betis earned a 4-3 win in a pulsating game at Camp Nou – with the scoring opener by Barca’s summer signing Junior Firpo.
After Aritz Aduriz’ stunning overhead kick consigned Barca to defeat at Athletic Club last weekend, Betis were also beaten after going down to ten men early on against Real Valladolid.
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the match will be shown live on ITV 4, and available to stream on the ITV Hub.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| ITV 4 | ITV Hub |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Barcelona squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Ter Stegen, Pena |
| Defenders | Pique, Lenglet, Semedo, Umtiti, Junior, Alba |
| Midfielders | Rakitic, Busquets, Arthur, Rafinha, Roberto, De Jong, Vidal |
| Forwards | Griezmann, Perez, Fati |
Lionel Messi returned to training this week but missed the final session and won’t play any part in this game.
Luis Suarez is also unavailable after going off against Athletic with a calf issue, while Ousmane Dembele is out of action with a hamstring injury. Rafinha came off the bench to play well in Bilbao and could join Antoine Griezmann in attack.
Possible Barcelona starting XI: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Rakitic, Arthur; Griezmann, Rafinha.
| Position | Real Betis squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Robles, Martin |
| Defenders | Francis, Feddal, Bartra, Sidnei, Moreno, Barragan, Emerson, Mandi |
| Midfielders | Garcia, Pedraza, Canales, Tello, Carvalho, Joaquin, Guardado, Lainez, Kaptoum, Narvaez |
| Forwards | Iglesias, Fekir, Juanmi, Loren |
Goalkeeper Joel Robles is suspended following his red card against Real Valladolid last weekend, while new signing Borja Iglesias is unlikely to play due to an ankle issue.
Former Barca players Marc Bartra and Cristian Tello will both be expecting to start.
Possible Real Betis starting XI: Martin; Emerson, Bartra, Mandi, Alfonso; Carvalho, Garcia; Joaquin, Fekir, Tello; Moron.
Betting & Match Odds
Barcelona are 1/4 favourites to win this match with bet365. Betis are on offer at 10/1, while the draw is available at 21/4.
Match Preview
After a summer dominated by the transfer pursuits of forwards Antoine Griezmann and Neymar, Barcelona looked curiously blunt when they got the new Spanish season underway last Friday.
Though it took a moment of sublime quality from Aritz Aduriz to down them, Ernesto Valverde’s side struggled to create chances.
With Messi still not ready to return and starting forwards Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele also injured, the expectation in this game will be on Antoine Griezmann to deliver, with fans eagerly anticipating his competitive home debut.
Valverde is looking forward to it too, but says Griezmann has to contribute more after a muted performance on his competitive debut.
“He has to be more involved in the play and always be looking to get involved,” he said.
“It is good to have him near the area because of his movement but that will only work if we completely dominate games.”
Gerard Pique is set to make his 500th appearance for the club, though he isn’t likely to come up against Betis’ new star forward Borja Iglesias, who is injured. Pique’s fellow La Masia graduate Cristian Tello, though, is looking forward to his trip back to Catalonia.
“It’s the team that gave me the opportunity to debut in the first division,” Tello told Barca’s website. “I have a lot of love for Barça and I appreciate all the people there.
“I experienced the best moments as a player who was trying to get to the top, and when you join the first team with all the enthusiasm that entails. I think it will be very special to return.
“We are aware that to win at Camp Nou we have to play a practically perfect match, but I think we have the team for it. Against Valladolid we had some bad luck, but we were very focused. I think we can win again at Camp Nou.”
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