The insane fixture congestion continues for FC Barcelona who next welcome in Real Betis tomorrow night, for a La Liga fixture. It will be their third match this week and the second of their eight in the month of April. Ah yes, the price of success!
When you’re still alive in multiple competitions, at this late stage of the season, it comes with the territory. Now it’s on manager Hansi Flick to manager everyone’s minutes and try to keep from overcooking them.
FC Barcelona vs Real Betis FYIs
Kick: Sat April 16, 8pm, Olympic Stadium, Barcelona, Spain
La Liga Standing: Real Btis 47 pts, Barca 1st, 66 pts
La Liga Form: Real Betis WWWWW Barcelona WWWWW
Result Probability: Atletico Madrid 13% Draw 17% Barca 70%
Barca Team News
There is only one fresh item of team news here, but it barely even qualifies as an injury concern.
Lamine Yamal is obviously huge for Barcelona, as he’s an all world player, but he is the most minor of doubts here, as he just suffered a nasty cut on his ankle in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg win over Atletico yesterday.
Otherwise the situation remains unchanged- the same group of injured players (Andreas Christensen, Dani Olmo, Marc Casaso, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Marc Bernal (so many Marcs here, wow) remain sidelined.
So with that all said, let’s just to the projected first XI.
FC Barcelona Starting Lineup Prediction vs Real Betis
Wojciech Szczesny; Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Alejandro Balde; Frenkie De Jong, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Robert Lewandowski
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. 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.