Barcelona return to action on Saturday afternoon for their second away game in a row. After beating Mallorca at Son Moix, they now take on Real Betis at Benito Villamarin in what will be an equally challenging clash.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men have had a rocky campaign in La Liga so far, winning drawing and losing five games apiece. They are currently in tenth place in the standings but are just four points away from the European qualification spots.
Los Verdiblancos suffered three consecutive defeats last month and stopped the bleeding with a 2-0 win over Segunda Federacion side UE Sant Andreu in the Copa del Rey earlier this week.
Barcelona also find themselves in a similar situation from a results standpoint, although they stopped their rut with a win over Mallorca in more emphatic fashion midweek.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Betis vs Barcelona.
Momentum for a challenging month
Barcelona’s 5-1 win over Mallorca was a liberating result from the team’s perspective and was a curse-breaking win of sorts given their recent rut.
After three successive winless games in the league, including two defeats, Barcelona desperately needed the three points to get back into the right spirits and they did so in some style.
As Hansi Flick hoped before the game, his side got off to a fine start to December after a horrific November and the goal now is to maintain that steam for the difficult schedule ahead.
Tomorrow at Benito Villamarin, the team face an uphill challenge which is only one of several to come. After all, they travel to Borussia Dortmund next week before returning home to host Leganes and Atletico Madrid all in around 15 days.
The Blaugrana will require as much momentum as they can gather to get past Atletico Madrid and Dortmund, and with the UCL clash coming immediately next, it is vital that they keep a winning run.
It will thus be Flick’s priority to ensure that Barcelona not only win against Los Verdiblancos but control the game from start to finish and remain comfortable through the game as they did in the second half against Mallorca.
Back with the nine
Set to start after a rest. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The big shock from Barcelona’s starting lineup against Mallorca was the absence of Robert Lewandowski who Hansi Flick decided to rest on the night.
His decision was well warranted for the Polish striker has not had any rest since the beginning of the season and the team requires him to be at his best for the games coming up.
What made the night even better for Lewandowski was that he was not called off the bench at any point in the game, not even when the team were under pressure and looking for the lead in the second half.
Eventually, Flick’s confidence in the team paid off and Barcelona scored four times in the second period without the Polish striker, giving him a complete rest. Tomorrow, he will return to the lineup and he will look to return to the limelight.
Lewandowski is the leader in the Pichichi race and has been in great form this season. He looked slightly fatigued against Las Palmas, and the week of rest will do him a world of good.
All eyes, thus, will be on the superstar who will return to the lineup and look to extend his lead as the top scorer.
No room to slip up
Barcelona’s poor run last month saw the team painfully drop eight points and their entire lead over Real Madrid in La Liga. As a result, the Merengues climbed within one point of the Blaugrana with even a game in hand.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side, however, fell short against Athletic Club midweek and suffered a 2-1 defeat and Barcelona’s win helped them climb four points clear. Notably, the defending champions still have a match in hand.
Hansi Flick and Co. must thus consider themselves to be just one point above their arch-rivals and look to push for a larger lead in La Liga. After all, they should be sitting on a much more sizeable difference given their form.
Given the mere fact that Real Madrid are pulling off wins despite their poor form, Barcelona must fight the hard way to ensure that they stay ahead. There is no room for error and even a single slip-up at this point can see them forfeit their lead.