La Liga Preview: Real Betis v Barcelona

The league leaders have not lost since a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in March and they are the only side still unbeaten after the opening 12 matches of this season.

Things are not quite so positive for Betis, who are languishing in the bottom three in the table and have not won in five league games.

Chuli's last-minute winner in Portugal lifted a little bit of the pressure on manager Pepe Mel, but recording back-to-back victories will be a tall order.

"It is important to finish well this cycle of seven or eight games between La Liga and the Champions League," he said.

"The balance is positive and I think that we have proven to be excellent in terms of the results, but we can be improved at a collective level. Even so, we are on a good line.

"We are at a good level and we know the demands for Barca."

Betis' problems are worsened by their injury woes; Mel has eight players unavailable, including Damien Perquis (broken jaw) and Juanfran (hamstring).

However, Paulao and Antonio Amaya both returned to training this week and could be involved, while Javi Chica is back from suspension.