Barcelona return to La Liga action on January 21 when they travel to Real Betis, where Xavi Hernandez’s side face a battle to gain ground in the title race.
La Blaugrana were swept aside in the Spanish Supercopa final as Real Madrid won 4-1 in Riyadh and Xavi will demand a response from his side in this match.
Barcelona’s title defense is in balance at the start of 2024, with the Spanish champions currently eight points behind leaders Girona.
Team news
Real Betis won their first La Liga game in six last weekend with a 1-0 victory over neighbors Granada, but Manuel Pellegrini will be looking to make changes.
Ayoze Perez will miss out through injury, along with Hector Bellerin and Guido Rodriguez, while Assane Diao and Nabil Fekir will start.
Raphinha has been ruled out of Barcelona after picking up an injury in the Supercopa, but defensive duo Joao Cancelo and Inigo Martinez are back fit for Barcelona.
Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Silva (GK) — Rubial, Pezzella, Sokratis, Abner — Roca, Guardado — Henrique, Isco, Diao — Fekir.
Barcelona (4-3-3): Neto (GK) — kounde, Cubarsi , Araujo, Balde — Pedri, Gundogan, de Jong — Torres, Lewandowski, Yemal.
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