While I’m backing Barcelona to win on Saturday night, I’m less convinced they will keep a clean sheet, which makes both teams to score an appealing option. 

Hansi Flick’s side play with real attacking intent and a high defensive line, which can leave them vulnerable at the other end. 

That has already been evident in La Liga this season, with both teams scoring in four of Barcelona’s eight victories, including each of their last two on their travels.

The same was true in each of their two Champions League wins this season so far. 

They will be coming up against a Real Betis side who have scored in each of their eight matches in the Spanish top flight this season, including at home against Real Madrid.

Moreover, BTTS would have been a winning selection in three of the hosts’ last four league games, including a 5-2 win over Osasuna last weekend.

Further encouragement comes from the fact that both teams have scored in each of the Green-and-Whites’ two Champions League games this season, with both matches producing over 4.5 goals.

Lamine Yamal regularly attracts plenty of attention from opposition defenders, so I’m backing him to be fouled at least twice against Real Betis on Saturday night. 

The Barcelona superstar is drawing an average of 1.61 fouls per game in La Liga this season.

A closer look shows that he has been brought down six times across his last three appearances, including twice during Barcelona’s most recent away game at Sevilla.

Yamal is also likely to come up against Real Betis left-back Fran Garcia, who committed 2 fouls at home to Osasuna last week. 

He was also penalised twice in the Green-and-Whites’ home game against Real Sociedad earlier in the season.

Garcia may have committed just one foul against Porto on Wednesday night, but his 5 tackles suggest he was kept busy defensively. 

You would expect his defensive workload to increase when he comes up against a player of Yamal’s calibre on Saturday night.

The Brazilian winger has always been a shoot-on-sight merchant, and this season has been no different.

The Betis forward has averaged a whopping 5.34 shots per game in La Liga this season, firing off multiple efforts in six of his eight appearances to date.

His habit of pulling the trigger has been just as evident in the Champions League, with Antony recording 10 shots across Real Betis’ opening two games. 

As already touched on, Barcelona are prone to lapses in concentration, while their attack-minded approach should leave space for Real Betis to exploit on the counter-attack.

With that in mind, I think Antony is a prime candidate to get at least two shots away during this contest.

A trip to Real Betis will arguably be Barcelona’s toughest test of the season so far, but I think the Catalan giants can come out on top.

Hansi Flick’s star-studded side have made a stunning start to their title defence, winning each of their opening eight league games and scoring a remarkable 34 goals in the process.

They have also hit the ground running in the Champions League, thrashing Feyenoord 5-1 before claiming a 4-1 victory away at Galatasaray in midweek.

While Real Betis are notoriously tough to beat at the Benito Villamarin, Barcelona have triumphed there in league duty in eight of the last nine seasons, including a 5-3 success last term.

It is also worth pointing out that the Green-and-Whites have a shorter turnaround than Barcelona after putting plenty of effort into coming from behind to claim a 3-2 home win over Porto on Wednesday night.

I think the extra day’s rest could also swing the balance in Barcelona’s favour here.