Betis will try to take Barca’s possession
After advancing to the UCL’s quarterfinals, where they will meet Man Utd, Barca will face Betis away on Sunday night. Although Barca are going to Sevilla happy after the win against Lyon on Wednesday, it’s gonna be a tough match. Not only because Betis are the only team to win in the Camp Nou this season, but the way they play. The players of Quique Setien play possession football, and it’s fair to say Betis will try to take Barca’s possession. Will they do it? It’s hard to predict. But, it will be a big challenge for Barca, to try and play their football.
Both Barca and Betis are leading the league in terms of possession. Although Betis are a team with less quality and stars, they are a great team in the matter of controlling the play. Moreover, when we look at the list of 10 players with most succeeded passes in the league, Betis has two. The two players are Mandi with 1899 successful passes, and Bartra with 1509 passes.
However, in that same list, Barca has 4 players – Rakitic, Pique, Busi and Alba. So, it’s fair to say that with all the respect to the opponent, Barca should be controlling the pace of the game. Although Betis will try to take Barca’s possession, Barca should still get the possession.
1 loss in the last 13 matches
The last match between Barca and Betis ended in a surprised home defeat for Barca. It was the only defeat in the last 13 matches between the clubs. Moreover, in 10 of those 13 games, Barca won. So, in terms of statistics there should not be a big problem for Barca.
However, in the year and a half since Quique Setien took over Betis, they seem to be a rising team in la liga. Moreover, Betis had some good performances in Europa League this season, against big teams like Milan. However, they seem a bit inconsistent. Aside big matches such as the win in the Camp nou, we can see matches like the 2-1 home defeat to Getafe, of the 3-0 loss against Leganes.
It’s going to be a tough match tomorrow, and Betis will try to take Barca’s possession. However, if Barca will be able to play their game, control the pace and get the chances, they should win.
