A curler by Fábregas from the border of the Betis box goes just wide past the right top corner!

Neymar with a shot from the left part of the Betis box that goes just wide past the right top corner but he was offside anyway!

Three mintues are added to the game.

The game has calmed down completely of course after it is decided.

Messi goes down inside the Betis box and claims a penalty after receiving a slight push from behind but "no" signals the referee and giives a corner for Barca. There were two wrong decisons though as Messi 1) was in an offside position and 2) touched the ball last!

Pedro receives a through ball and gives a cross-pass to the right for Messi inside the guest area but he was offside already and is called back!

Cesc Fábregas is joining the game soon! He is making the last preparations!

The corner from the left side was cleared by the hosts before the second cross was caught by Pinto.

The free kick cross by Nono is cleared with a header by a defender and there will be a corner in favour of Betis.

Free kick for Betis from a central position about 25 metres away from the net. .

Messi receives a pass by Dani Alves from the right wing but under pressure of two defenders at the same time he fails to force his way through and the situation ends with a goal kick.

Adriano with a flat cross towards the penalty shot point but Lionel Messi isn't able to take the ball well and it goes wide past the left post.

Barca try to calm down the game a bit now.

Betis see their chances to take something back to Sevilla and with the two new forwards they even intensify their efforts.

Another cross towards the right part of the Barca box but this time N'Diaye comes late.

Cross for Cedric from the left part of the box but Cedric just misses the ball!

Barca are not investing much and Betis create more danger in the second half – the home fans start to lose their patience with their team!

Distance shot by the guests from about 35 metres but the ball isn't even close to the net...

Hard cross by N'Diaye from the right part of the Barca defensive area towards the six-yard box but Cedric isn't able to reach it.

Barcelona also try it with long balls but Alexis Sánchez fails to stop one and guest goalkeeper Adán is there to catch it.

Cedric receives a cross on the right wing and is stopped with a hard tackle from behind but the referee gives no free kick.

Free kick cross for Betis from the left wing but the ball is too high and too long for any player. Amaya was the only Betis player near the ball but he also couldn't reach it anymore.

A through ball for Leo Baptistao on the left wing is not very accurate and Mascherano is able to conquer the ball.

Foul by Amaya against Dani Alves. There will be a free kick in favour of Barca from about 20 metres distance from a central position!

It's a slow start into the second half with Barcelona having a lot of ball possession but without any real intention to break through the defense.

There were no changes in the lineups during the half time break. The same 22 men continue.

N'Diaye claims a corner kick for his team after a duel in the right part of the Barca half but "no" signals the referee.

The corner is cleared with a header by a Barca defender but the danger is only over when also the rebound is stopped.

Betis win a corner from the left. It's their second of the game.

Sergio Busquets with a foul against Leo Baptistao from behind with his sliding tackle to stop a counter but the referee thought he had hit the ball first and that's why there is no free kick for Betis.

Cedric with a nice effort against three Barca players, tries to win a corner kick on the right wing but according to the assistant referee the ball crosses the endline without any contact of a Barca player.

Lionel Messi with a nice lob towards the left part of the Betis defensive area but Pedro barely is able to keep the ball in play...

A 25 metre distance shot by Adriano from a half left position is deflected by a defender at cost of a corner which doesn't create any danger.

Messi goes past three opponents on the right side of the Betis area but his flat cross towards the six-yard box is stopped by a defender.

Horrible long ball by Vadillo towards the right wing which ends up behind the goal line.

Barca try it over both outside lanes but always there is a leg of a defender in between.

Barca controll the ball in the midfield without really gaining any room.

A shot from about 20 metres distance just left to the area by Vadillo lacks pressure and is easily stopped by Pinto.

Leo Baptistao receives a long ball left to the Barca area but is stopped by Busquets who steals the ball from his feet with a nice sliding tackle.

Barcelona play it with a lot of patience, prepare their attacks slowly and look for a hole in the Betis defense but just can't find one currently. A long passing combination ends with a bad ball controll by Alexis Sánchez and a throw in for Betis.

Offside called against Barcelona after a long ball on the left wing.

Betis stay very active inside the Barcelona half. Vadillo stops a high ball 22 metres in front of the net and tries it with a hard volley shot that goes just wide past the left post!

A through ball by Leo Baptistao towards the left side of the Barcelona box reaches Cedric but the Betis forward gets not enough pressure behind the ball and Pinto makes an easy save.

On the other side of the pitch a long Barca cross is interdcepted by Adán.

Again Cedric in the center of attraction but his cross towards the six yard box is no danger for the Barca defense.

Cedric with a harmless distance shot for Betis from the right wing.

Pedro loses a running duel with a defender on the left wing and the situation ends with a goal kick for Betis.

Betis are doing it the right way and defend with early forechecking deep inside the Barca half to keep the opponents as far away from theri own net as possible.

The following corner brought no danger for the Betis goal after Bartra was hit during his header by the fists of goalkeeper Adán and the ball went over the crossbar then!

After receiving a long pass on the right side of the Betis area, Alexis Sánchez forces a corner kick when his shot from a sharp angle is blocked by a defender.

Mistakes by the last denders on each side stay without consequences as their team mates help them out.

Alexis Sanchez receives a through ball by Messi but is at least five metres offside – well seen by the referee and his assistants.

Betis conquer the ball from Messi in the midfield but the following long ball was not very accurate and a Barcelona defender goes in between.

If is the expected picture on the field. Betis defend with all 11 players by using two lines of four defenders each while Barcelona have a lot of ball possession. The chance for Vadillo showed that the last in the table won't give up without a fight!

Starting lineups

FC Barcelona: Pinto – Adriano, Mascherano, Bartra, D.Alves – Iniesta, Busquets, Xavi – Pedro, Messi, A.Sánchez

Real Betis: Adán – J.Carlos, Jordi, Amaya, Juanfran – Nono, Ndiyae, L.Reyes – Cedric, L.Baptistao, Vadillo

Referees: Prieto Iglesias

FC Barcelona are having a difficult first season after major changes like having a new head coach in Tata Martino and signing new stars like Brazilian forward Neymar. The club made more headlines off than on the pitch though with several scandals, e.g. Lionel Messi not paying taxes for all his income, hidden money transfers during the Neymar transfer, signing youth players from foreign countries against FIFA rules, their president stepping down as a consequence of the Neymar scandal etc.!

Despite all the negative press the club received, they won the Spanish Super Cup against Atlético Madrid, are in the Champions League quarterfinals where they played 1-1 at home against Atlético in the first leg and they qualified for the Copa del Rey finals where they will face Real Madrid later on 16 April. In the La Liga standings Barcelona are 2nd with 75 points in 31 games, just one point behind Atlético and two points ahead of archrivals Real Madrid. Ater two bitter away losses within two weeks against Real Sociedad (1-3) and Real Valladolid (0-1), the Catalans fought back with four consecutive wins against CA Osasuna (H, 7-0), archrivals Real Madrid (A, 4-3), Celta de Vigo (H, 3-0) and in the derby against Espanyol Barcelona (A, 1-0).

Today's guests Real Betis had a terrible start into the season and struggled a lot with 14 winless games between September 2013 and January 2014. Still they managed to make it to the round of the last 16 of the Europa League where they lost against city rivals Sevilla FC only in the penalty shootout. They improved in recent weeks but lost both their last home games against Atlético Madrid (0-2) and Málaga CF (1-2), leaving only small room for a wonder. With now 22 points in 31 games and a 8 point deficit towards the non-relegation spots before the matchday, they are most likely to go down to Segunda División after being relegated the last time in 2009.

During the first meeting of the two sides this season, Barcelona celebrated an easy 4-1 road win. Everything but a clear win for Barcelona who miss their starting goalie Victor Valdes due to a heavy knee injury for the rest of the season, would be a miracle!

Welcome. Game starts at 18:00 CET.