Barcelona take on Real Betis on Saturday in a game that could prove huge in their hunt for the title in LaLiga this season.
By Kaustubh Pandey
Hansi Flick‘s side find themselves four points clear at the top of the table and have played a game more but the gap could have been much less comfortable, if Real Madrid hadn’t stumbled against Athletic Club on Wednesday.
At the same time, the Catalan giants have themselves had a bit of a stumble in recent weeks.
Barcelona have won only one game out of their last four league games. They did recover from last weekend’s home defeat to Las Palmas by routing Mallorca 5-1 in midweek. But one thing is certain; there are some chinks in the armour of the Blaugrana.
Struggling Betis look for hope
Manuel Pellegrini‘s Real Betis had started off the season in a fine fashion but they have faded away over the last couple of months.
They haven’t won a single league game since beating Atlético Madrid towards the end of October and the last three have yielded only a single point. That run has included a 4-2 loss to struggling Valencia.
Pellegrini’s Los Beticos will be hoping to expose Barcelona’s recent problems, as they look to lift themselves in the top half of the table. They could be helped by their good home record, having lost just once at the Benito Villamarín.
Goalscoring a problem for Betis
Goalscoring has been an issue for Pellegrini’s side in recent weeks, with Betis having underperformed on their Expected Goals metric by about six.
They’ve created an xG of 22.4 but have scored 16 times only. On top of that, they have missed the joint second-highest number of big chances this season – behind only Barcelona. The only difference in this context is that the Catalans create a lot of chances and them missing 40 big chances doesn’t matter as much to them.
Vitor Roque, who is on loan from Barcelona, will surely have something to say in this department on Saturday, having already revealed that he would like to score against his parent club.
Barcelona’s high risk make or break approach
Flick’s insistence on playing a risky yet effective high defensive line has worked out well for Barcelona so far – generally speaking. It helped them register wins over Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but at the same time, there are some concerning underlying numbers.
They have conceded the ninth-highest xG in LaLiga and a lot of it is because of how high they operate.
Whether that approach is sustainable or not remains to be seen in the longer term but Pellegrini’s side will count on those weaknesses tomorrow.
Injury problems for both Betis and Barcelona
Johnny Cardoso, Nobel Mendy, Héctor Bellerín, Marc Roca, William Carvalho and Isco are on the sidelines for Los Verdiblancos.
For Barcelona, Ansu Fati, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal, Marc-André ter Stegen, Ronald Araújo will remain out. Robert Lewandowski will come back into the side after being rested in mid-week.
Prediction
Barcelona should pick up a win in this one, with the Catalan giants having not lost at the Villamarín since 2008.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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