Barcelona will look to take back their 11-point lead over Real Madrid, when they travel to a dangerous Real Betis unit.
Real Madrid scored a thrilling 3-2 victory over Real Valladolid Saturday, to cut the lead to eight points from leaders Barcelona. Tito Vilanova will be mindful of losing points against a Betis side who are in fifth.
"With Pepe Mel they have always made things hard for us," Vilanova said. "One of my worst moments on the bench in recent years was a cup match away to Betis.
"We haven't beaten them on our last two trips there, and we have to remember that this season they have already beaten Real Madrid. They create a lot of pressure up front and it's not easy to play comfortably against them."
Vilanova has named Lionel Messi in the squad, after the Barcelona superstar bruised his knee in the Champions League game against Benfica in midweek.
"He completed training on Saturday without any kind of trouble," Vilanova added. "There are still a lot of hours until kick off and we'll all evaluate the situation together and decide whether he'll play the full 90 minutes or just part of the match. The important thing is that he's feeling okay ... But he could easily wake up in the morning and tell us he's feeling pain again.
"I think Messi was comforted when he found out that it's not a serious injury. If he wants to be in the squad because he's not feeling any trouble, then so much the better for us. But he doesn't need to make this kind of effort to show how much he loves this sport."
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Expected lineups: Betis: Adrian; Chica, Amaya, Dorado, Nacho; Benat, Canas, Sevilla; Castro, Campbell, Molina.
Barcelona: Valdes; Montoya, Pique, Puyol, Alba; Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta; Pedro, Fabregas, Messi.
Prediction: 4-1 to Barcelona
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