Real Betis – Barcelona

Betis are capable of scoring at least one goal against Barcelona

The second semi-final of the King's Super Cup takes place on Thursday 12 January. Betis and Barcelona will play in Saudi Arabia. Manuel Pellegrini's side are very well prepared for the second part of the season. "The Cucumbers have shown quality football in friendlies, and have taken four points from difficult opponents in official matches. First, they outplayed Athletic, then defeated Rayo Vallecano on the road. Betis remain one of the main contenders for a place in the top four. At the moment, the attacking line-up looks impressive. One of the top scorers in La Liga, Borja, is assisted by the young Brazilian, Fekir and Canales. Manuel Pellegrini has probably found the perfect combination. There are more questions on defence. In particular, goalkeeper Rui Silva made a costly mistake in the match against Rayo Vallecano. Barcelona also travel to Saudi Arabia with positive emotions. The team picked up three points in one of the key matches of the season against Atletico. Barcelona beat Real Madrid by the same three points. The Catalans did not have the highest quality of match. The key detail was that the club lost on possession in the second half by a wide margin. A significant excuse is the absence of Lewandowski. Robert will return in the Super Cup. The suspension does not apply to this tournament. Thus, the probability of a big number of goals increases. The Pole is highly motivated. Previously, Robert failed to score against Espanyol. Importantly, both teams are coming into the match with almost optimal squads. There are no significant losses. The grands have not yet met in the championship, and in the framework of last season, Barcelona took the last game in emotional style. The winning goal came in the 94th minute. From the second semi-final, it is logical to expect a more productive game. The history of head-to-head encounters also points to it. If we take the last ten games, only two of them have failed to score a total of over 2.5. In this case, the opponents have drawn a total of over three in seven meetings. The last time Betis did not score against Barcelona was in 2018. The match promises to be a high-scoring one. The Catalans have a very good defence this season, but that was about La Liga. In the Champions League and in the King's Cup, Xavi's charges have allowed for lapses. There is no total stability here. A draw in the Super Cup is also possible, so we anticipate a high-scoring encounter.