Real Betis seeks win when they visit Barcelona

Borja Iglesias scored a late penalty as Real Betis won their last La Liga game with a 1-0 victory against Getafe. It is a win that helped resuscitate their chances of finishing in the top four of La Liga for the first time since the 2004/2005 season.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side has not won two successive La Liga games since last September, and this inconsistency has affected their League form and standing even though they are three points away from the final top-four spot.

Their home form has not fared better, as they lost one and drew two others in their last three home games in La Liga. 

However, they will face an unwanted visitor in Barcelona as they try to remedy the situation. Visiting Barcelona is currently top of La Liga with a five-point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid after the weekend’s results.

Real Madrid dropped points against Real Sociedad in a goalless affair, while Barcelona were able to snatch a 1-0 victory on Saturday against Girona.

Real Betis doesn’t have a good record against Barcelona as they have not beaten the Blaugrana since March 2008 and have gone eight home league games without a win against Barca.

This includes three draws and five consecutive losses to the Catalonians, a chance to continue that streak looks likely after Barcelona triumphed in their latest matchup this season in the Supercopa De Espana in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Beyond that, Barcelona has been impressive, having won eight of their nine La Liga away matches this season. The only loss was a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the El Clasico last year at Santiago Bernabeu.

However, four of their last five away victories have ended in a 1-0 scoreline which means that Wednesday’s game may not be a high-scoring one.

A victory for Xavi’s side will take them to eight points ahead of Real Madrid until the Los Blancos play their fixture.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu