That long injury list at the Catalan club is getting shorter now, and that has granted manager Hansi Flick more options now in selection. You saw some major squad rotation on Tuesday night, in the thrashing of Mallorca. For the weekend fixture at Real Betis, expect wholesale changes to the first team again.
This lineup will likely feature more of the usual starters. But maybe Ronald Araujo makes his season debut in a late second half cameo off the bench?
FC Barcelona at Real Betis FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Dec 7, 4:15 CET, Benito Villamarin, Sevilla, Spain
Barca Preview Material: Team Newsย ย Starting XI Prediction
La Liga Standing, Form: Real Betisย 10thย 20 pts,ย WDDLLย ย FC Barcelona 1st,ย 37 pts, WLDLW
Google Result Probability:ย Real Betisย 20%ย ย Drawย 22%ย ย FC Barcelona 58%
Ferran Torress started up top in midweek, with Pau Victor relieving him, but you can expect that platoon to go back to the bench here. It is now Lewy time again in center forward role. Expect some shuffling behind him in the attacking midfield too.
Barca predicted lineup at Real Betis (4-2-3-1)
Inaki Pena; Jules Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Frenkie De Jong, Marc Casado; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez; Lewandowski.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. Heโs also the author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ and โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes to USA Todayโs NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.
