Robert Lewandowski will be back in action when Barcelona continue their La Liga campaign Wednesday against Real Betis.
Will Lewandowki’s return inspire the team to a big offensive performance? Bookmaker 10bet has the odds at 1.68 for Barcelona to score over 0.5 first-half goals and at 4.90 for the visitors to get over 1.5 goals in the first half.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 31st, 2:30 P.M. (EST)
Lewandowski is returning from a suspension, which has so far kept him out of all league matches in 2023. Barca haven’t exactly missed him, putting together a winning streak, but they have struggled to get goals without him and it shouldn’t be a problem anymore now that Lewandowski is back.
The former Bayern man has had a great time in Spain, netting 13 times in 15 league outings. Across all competitions, he has tallied 22 goals in 24 games, and keeping him quiet is a very difficult task for any side.
Lewandowski isn’t the only player back in the fold either. Ferran Torres has also been unavailable for a couple of games due to a suspension. He returns at a good time because Barcelona have just lost Ousmane Dembele to a hamstring injury and Torres will provide good cover on the wings.
Betis will hope to have Nabil Fekir back in their starting lineup. He made his return from a muscular injury over the weekend with a 23-minute cameo off the bench against Getafe. The 29-year-old has struggled to make an impact this season, but he is still among Betis’ most creative players and can decide the fate of a match in a single instant.
It’s been only two weeks since the teams last squared off against each other. Fekir scored for Betis when the teams were paired in the Spanish Super Cup semifinals in Saudi Arabia and Barcelona managed to pull off a victory on penalties after a 2-2 draw. The result means that Betis have won only one of the last eight head-to-head meetings.
With only one home loss suffered this season, Betis will feel good about their chances of improving the miserable head-to-head record, but they are facing a side that has only dropped one away game. Barca have conceded just once in four away outings since losing the El Clasico in Madrid 3-1.
