MADRID, March 16 -- FC Barcelona on Sunday play the only side that has beaten them in the Camp Nou Stadium this season when they face Betis in the Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Betis' 4-3 victory over Barca came after they were able to catch Barca time after time with their speed on the break, coupled with some poor defending from Barca, who left too many spaces in midfield.
Barca travel after qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-1 win at home to Olympique Lyon on Wednesday and then being handed a quarter-final tie against Manchester United, but by kick off on Sunday they could have seen their lead at the top of the Liga Santander cut to four points if Atletico Madrid win in Bilbao on Saturday evening.
Sunday should see Leo Messi reach two more milestones in his career as the Argentinean plays his 674th game for Barca, overtaking Andres Iniesta in the ranking, while a win would see him overtake Xavi Hernandez's total of 476 wins for the club.
Ousmane Dembele will miss the game due to a hamstring injury he picked up on Wednesday, but everyone else is available and with the international break to follow Sunday's game, coach Ernesto Valverde will field his strongest available side.
Betis' season has mixed disappointing results with some excellent performances as the team coached by Quique Setien continues to show its commitment to a pure passing game.
Their style of play brought them a win in the Camp Nou and they have a good chance of qualifying for Europe, but it can leave them open to sides who press them high up the field.
Barca failed to do that in their first meeting, but speaking to the press on Friday, Setien admitted it would be hard for his team to spring another surprise.
"Sometimes you can beat logic in football," said Setien. "It's true that Barca are virtually infallible and they are in great form, but they are not completely infallible. It will be hard to beat them, but we are going to try and cause another upset," he commented.
Jese Rodriguez will be looking forward to the game with the former Real Madrid forward enjoying a new lease of life in his loan spell at the club after his time had drifted with disappointing spells with Paris Saint Germain, Stoke City and Las Palmas.
吃掉我们忠尽职守的护卫 Eat the Loyal Guard
国际英语资讯:Iraqi forces corner remaining IS militants in small pocket in Mosuls Old City
我的低碳生活 MyLow--carbonLife
国际英语资讯:UN welcomes U.S.-Russian agreement on cease-fire in southern Syria
国际英语资讯:UN mission confirms improvement of security situation in Sudans Darfur
国际英语资讯:Trump discuss energy security, NATO during visit to Poland
川普誓言捍卫西方文明
国际英语资讯:Britains general election campaign officially starts
国际英语资讯:Egypt police kill 14 terrorists in fire exchange
丽丽的变化 The Change of Lily
国际英语资讯:Italy arrests one man, deports three on terrorism suspicion
国际英语资讯:G20 Hamburg summit stresses building interconnected world in communique
川普与习近平安倍通电话讨论朝核问题
国际英语资讯:Overnight U.S. drone strikes hit al-Qaida-held sites in Yemen
国际英语资讯:WTO gives 1.5 mln USD to help S. Sudan develop trade policy
国际英语资讯:Abes office involved in school-linked favoritism scandal: former government official
国际英语资讯:Rapporteur asks Brazilian committee to accept charges against president
国际英语资讯:Masked militants kill national security officer in Egypts Delta city
国际英语资讯:BiH, Croatia vow to strengthen bilateral cooperation in joint govt session
2017年5月CATTI三级口译真题解析(中)
国际英语资讯:Ukraine to seek FTA with Britain after Brexit: PM
理想与现实的冲突The Conflict Between Idealism and Realism
国际英语资讯:Russia, India work on military technical cooperation program by 2030
国际英语资讯:Trump urges Egypt, Gulf countries to solve dispute with Qatar
如何有意义的生活 How to live a meaningful life
我未来的事业 My Future Career
亲政府袭击者冲击委内瑞拉全国代表大会
国际英语资讯:Most Americans have more faith in Merkel than Trump: Pew survey
国际英语资讯:Brizilian FM warns corruption probe of president potentially disastrous
年轻一代面临新的挑战 The Young Generation Faces New Challenges