MADRID, March 16 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona on Sunday play the only side that has beaten them in the Camp Nou Stadium this season when they face Betis in the Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Betis' 4-3 victory over Barca came after they were able to catch Barca time after time with their speed on the break, coupled with some poor defending from Barca, who left too many spaces in midfield.
Barca travel after qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-1 win at home to Olympique Lyon on Wednesday and then being handed a quarter-final tie against Manchester United, but by kick off on Sunday they could have seen their lead at the top of the Liga Santander cut to four points if Atletico Madrid win in Bilbao on Saturday evening.
Sunday should see Leo Messi reach two more milestones in his career as the Argentinean plays his 674th game for Barca, overtaking Andres Iniesta in the ranking, while a win would see him overtake Xavi Hernandez's total of 476 wins for the club.
Ousmane Dembele will miss the game due to a hamstring injury he picked up on Wednesday, but everyone else is available and with the international break to follow Sunday's game, coach Ernesto Valverde will field his strongest available side.
Betis' season has mixed disappointing results with some excellent performances as the team coached by Quique Setien continues to show its commitment to a pure passing game.
Their style of play brought them a win in the Camp Nou and they have a good chance of qualifying for Europe, but it can leave them open to sides who press them high up the field.
Barca failed to do that in their first meeting, but speaking to the press on Friday, Setien admitted it would be hard for his team to spring another surprise.
"Sometimes you can beat logic in football," said Setien. "It's true that Barca are virtually infallible and they are in great form, but they are not completely infallible. It will be hard to beat them, but we are going to try and cause another upset," he commented.
Jese Rodriguez will be looking forward to the game with the former Real Madrid forward enjoying a new lease of life in his loan spell at the club after his time had drifted with disappointing spells with Paris Saint Germain, Stoke City and Las Palmas.
