Three talking points ahead of Real Betis vs Barcelona | La Liga MD15 | OneFootball

Barcelona made a massive statement midweek with a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid, retaining the pole position on the league standings and consolidating themselves as one of the favourites in the title race.

On Saturday, they will face off against Real Betis at the Estadio la Cartuja as part of Matchday 15 as they look to take another massive step towards widening their lead at the top.

The last time Barcelona played away against Real Betis, the game was at the Benito Villamarin, which is now under renovation. On the night, however, the Catalans conceded a 94th-minute equaliser to drop two points in a frustrating game.

With Real Betis still one of Spain’s most in-form teams and currently undefeated in eight games across all competitions, Barcelona will have a massive challenge tomorrow.

Barça Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Betis vs Barcelona.

Riding on momentum

It has not been said too often this season that Barcelona are riding on momentum, for most of their performances in the campaign have seen them either take home scrappy wins or ride on individual brilliance.

The team’s win over Atletico Madrid, however, marked their first proper dominant showing in recent weeks as they completely dictated the terms of play against Los Rojiblancos.

It also marked their first big game win of the season after defeats to Chelsea, PSG, and Real Madrid, and the Blaugrana will look to ride that momentum as they enter tomorrow’s game.

Hansi Flick’s side excelled across the park against Atletico Madrid with the defence doing decently well, the midfield dominating after long, and the attack finally being on song after long this season.

As they take on another complicated rival in Real Betis, the goal for Barcelona will be to retain the same form and quality that they showed midweek.

Fermin and Olmo switch up

Fermin Lopez is back. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)

Dani Olmo scored the goal that handed Barcelona the lead against the Colchoneros midweek, but never rose to celebrate. In the process of scoring the goal, after all, he fell to the ground and landed awkwardly to dislocate his shoulder.

His final involvement, thus, was the team’s goal, and he immediately left the field of play and is no longer expected to feature this year. Needless to say, that comes as a huge blow for Flick and the player, especially given that he was just finding his best form once more.

While Olmo will be unavailable for tomorrow’s clash against Real Betis, Flick has a concurrent boost that could not have come at a better time – the return of Fermin Lopez.

Stepping in as a like-for-like replacement, the Spaniard will come off the bench to take on Olmo’s role against Los Verdiblancos and will thus help fill the void left by his compatriot’s injury.

At this point in the season, it somewhat appears that Olmo and Fermin are taking turns being injured, for one’s return seemingly coincides with the other’s setback. Needless to say, Flick will be delighted to have Fermin back for tomorrow’s clash.

Time for measured rotations

Barcelona’s injury situation has not permitted Flick to rotate players to his expectations this season, but now that most of the squad is at his disposal, the manager must look to shuffle his cards to the right capacity.

If one thing has become clear this season, it is that players are more fragile than in the previous campaign, and adequately balancing their minutes becomes a must.

With the team’s situation in the UEFA Champions League far from favourable and a massive home game against Eintracht Frankfurt coming up midweek, Flick should look to hand some key players rest.

Robert Lewandowski, for starters, could well start on the bench with Ferran Torres taking over as the primary striker. Raphinha and Lamine Yamal are expected to start, but it is best for all parties if both are rested for at least half an hour.

In midfield, Pedri will almost be forced to start given that Frenkie de Jong is unlikely to be fit to play from the get-go. The manager, however, should look to hand the Canary Islander some rest in the second half when the Dutchman can return to fill in.

Needless to say, not much is expected to change from a defensive standpoint, especially given how the department has only begun to show some signs of promise in recent games.