Barça vs Betis - Head to head record as Messi & Co. aim to win first game of the season

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Agosto 23, 2019 Di Oscar Rojas

Temi: La Liga, Barcelona, Real Betis, Lionel Messi, Rubí, Ernesto Valverde, TV Schedules, TV Listings

Neither team was able to win Matchday 1's game, which makes Sunday's clash even more interesting. Will Messi's return help Barça end their woes?

The 2019-20 season has begun in the Spanish top-flight, and surprisingly, Barcelona did not score a win in their first clash last Friday. Given that Betis is one of the teams that is known to up their game whenever they face los Culés, fans are now wondering if Sunday's game will be a chance to get back on track for Valverde's men.

Barcelona's home record against Los Verdiblancos is quite impressive, since they have only lost five games out of their 53 encounters. If that was not enough reason to believe in Barcelona's chances of success against their opponent on Sunday, here are the last 20 results between these sides when Los culés have played as hosts.

Those games where Betis managed to sneak at least one point away from Camp Nou are in bold.

Barcelona 3-4 Betis
Barcelona 2-0 Betis
Barcelona 6-2 Betis
Barcelona 4-0 Betis
Barcelona 3-1 Betis
Barcelona 4-2 Betis
Barcelona 4-2 Betis
Barcelona 3-2 Betis
Barcelona 3-0 Betis
Barcelona 1-1 Betis
Barcelona 5-1 Betis
Barcelona 3-3 Betis
Barcelona 2-1 Betis
Barcelona 4-0 Betis
Barcelona 3-0 Betis
Barcelona 4-1 Betis
Barcelona 4-1 Betis
Barcelona 1-3 Betis
Barcelona 5-0 Betis
Barcelona 1-0 Betis

That last game, which Betis won with a 4-3 score, has a major point to discuss. Barcelona ended the game with only ten men on the pitch, which exemplifies how Betis was able to hold on to their lead thanks to Rakitic's red card.

Simply put, Barcelona has managed to beat Betis in 16 of their last 20 meetings at Camp Nou. Los culés have scored 65 goals in those games, while Los Verdiblancos have only found the back of the net 24 times. Curiously, Betis has not been able to keep a clean sheet away at Camp Nou since the 1964-65 campaign, which makes us wonder if Barcelona fans are still worried about their chances of success, statistically speaking.

One more thing Blaugrana fans have to keep in mind is Lionel Messi's return from injury. "La Pulga" dominated Betis' defense in their last clash, a 4-1 win for Los Culés where the Argentine scored a hat-trick. He may not be included in the starting lineup as a result of the injury that kept him out of La Liga's opening match last week, but he will surely get to play a few minutes to ease the tension among those in attendance and watching around the world.

So, there you have it. Betis has presented a fair share of problems for Barcelona, but not that much when you look at the bigger picture. Be that as it may, the last game in La Liga's second week of action will be one you won't want to miss.