Defending La Liga champions Barcelona will fight it out against Real Betis in their second outing of this year's edition of the tournament at Camp Nou on August 25. The Blaugrana had a poor start to their season as they lost by a lone goal against Athletic Bilbao in the opener whereas Real Betis also suffered an upset against Real Valladolid as they lost to a late winner.
Preview, Prediction and Schedule
The defending champions had a very bad experience last week as they lost Luis Suarez in the first half itself due to an injury. New big signing Antoine Griezmann could not live up to the expectations in the first fixture he played for Barca whereas Frenkie De Jong impressed in his first competitive match for the club.
Ernesto Valverde's tactics in the fixture were very much criticised by fans from all over the world as they blamed the manager for taking the opposition lightly.
Lionel Messi's return to the playing 11 would have been a major boost to the club as the Argentine was slated to take the field in this match. But it has been declared that he won't be taking part in the match.
Despite that, the Blaugrana need to get back in winning form and register their first points on the table as fast as possible so that they don't fall behind in the marathon league.
On the other hand, Real Betis lost their first game to Valladolid due to a late goal by Oscar Plano. The El Glorioso who have some big names like Borja Iglesias and Nabil Fekir in their squad need to bounce back in the league so that they don't fall behind.
Last season they beat Barcelona 4-3 at the Camp Nou. They will be looking forward to repeating that feat again as they visit the club's home grouhnd in the second week of the season.
Barca are definitely the favourites to win the match even without Lionel Messi's inclusion in the starting XI but Real Betis can produce an upset on their day. The probable scoreline will be 2-0 for Barcelona.
The Barcelona-Real Betis match will start at 9 PM local time on August 25 and 12.30 PM IST on August 26.
Live Streaming: How and where to watch in India
The match will not be telecasted in India as Sony Sports network did not get the broadcasting rights. The fixture will be streamed live on the official La Liga page on Facebook.
