Barcelona vs Real Betis: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Barcelona welcome Real Betis to Montjuic for a round of 16 tie in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.

The Catalan giants are still riding high from their Supercopa de Espana triumph over Real Madrid on Sunday night, thrashing their eternal rivals 5-2 to claim the first trophy of Hansi Flick's tenure in style. Betis will be intent on bringing their jet-lagged hosts abruptly back down to Earth.

Manuel Pellegrini's side sit right in the middle of the La Liga table at the season's halfway stage, but held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw when the teams met in Seville at the start of December.

Barcelona vs Real Betis H2H Record (Last Five Games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Barcelona vs Real Betis on TV - UK and US

Barcelona team news

Inigo Martinez will be out until February at the earliest / Alex Caparros/GettyImages

Barcelona lost centre-back Inigo Martinez to a hamstring injury within the opening half-hour of Sunday's 5-2 trouncing of Real Madrid. The club confirmed that the veteran defender will be out for around four weeks, opening up a spot in the backline alongside the unwavering presence of Pau Cubarsi.

Ronald Araujo is the most likely replacement, especially as Manchester United-linked Andreas Christensen remains on the sidelines.

Long-term absentees Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Ansu Fati will also miss out while - crucially - Dani Olmo is allowed to feature after earning a temporary registration.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Real Betis

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde; Pedri, Casado; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Real Betis team news

Real Betis right-back Hector Bellerin is unlikely to face his former club / Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/GettyImages

Pellegrini has several injury absentees to juggle. The wily Chilean boss will be without the tenacious forward Ezequiel Avila until the end of January. A midfield trio of Marc Roca (knee), Pablo Fornals (muscle) and William Carvalho (ACL) are also sidelined.

Former Barcelona right-back Hector Bellerin has missed the last two-and-a-half months with a contusion and is set to sit out this potential reunion.

Real Betis predicted lineup vs Barcelona

Real Betis predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Vieites; Sabaly, Llorente, Natan, Rodriguez; Altimira, Cardoso; Lo Celso, Isco, Abde; Bakambu

Barcelona vs Real Betis score prediction

Once, when Vic Buckingham was manager of Barcelona in the lates 1960s, his prematch team-talk consisted of writing down the name of the opposition on the blackboard in the dressing room - 'BETIS' - then asking, "who are Betis? F*** Betis," before kicking the blackboard to the ground.

This modern iteration of Real Betis are not without their threat. The returning Isco still has magic in his boots, and is feeling his way back in to the first team after missing the opening four months of the season with a broken leg, while Giovani Lo Celso has racked up an impressive seven goals from an attacking midfield role.

However, Flick will expect the same positive result as Buckingham - even if he does adopt a less abrasive approach.