Barça aims to maintain its strongest version against Betis and put pressure on Madrid

This Saturday, at the Benito Villamarín, FC Barcelona will face Real Betis. Although Betis arrives with confidence after their Copa del Rey qualification, their recent inconsistency in La Liga has put them in a delicate position, while Barça is recovering from a rough patch in La Liga with a convincing 1-5 victory in Mallorca.

Barça coach Hansi Flick was firm in his message before the match. After the Mallorca thrashing, he emphasized the importance of not relaxing and demanded that his players maintain the same mentality for the match against Betis. 

Tactically, Flick did not hold back in praising his players, but he also sent out warning signals. Instead of talking about individual achievements, such as the performance of Lamine Yamal, who continues to impress in his starting appearances, Flick preferred to focus on the collective and expects to see the same intensity and commitment that they have shown in recent matches.

Betis, for its part, is preparing to face Barça with the hope of reactivating their performance in the League. With a record of 14 out of 20 points obtained at home, Betis will look to take advantage of the support from their fans to pull off an upset. Pellegrini himself, aware of the difficulty of the match, downplayed Barça's favoritism: "This is football, and we all know that things change from one game to another."

One of the most anticipated figures in the match will be Vitor Roque, the Brazilian forward loaned by Barcelona to Betis. Roque, who has shown his goal-scoring ability, made it clear that he is eager to shine against his former team, although he committed not to celebrate a potential goal as a sign of respect.

Pellegrini has the good news of Isco Alarcón's return, who is back in the squad after a long absence of seven months. However, Betis' injury list remains significant, with key players such as William Carvalho, Héctor Bellerín, and Marc Roca still out of action.

This match, which will kick off at 16:15, has implications beyond the three points. If Barça wins, they will put pressure on Real Madrid, who play later against Girona. A Barça victory could leave Ancelotti's team 7 points behind.