Barcelona vs Real Betis summary: score, goals, highlights, LaLiga

Barcelona go 11 points clear

After losing to Rayo in midweek, Barcelona have returned to winning ways and are now, once again, 11 points ahead of Real Madrid in second.

Barcelona 4-0 Real Betis

Barcelona win comfortably at Camp Nou!

Lewandowski curls the free but Rui Silva saves it with ease and the whistle is blown for full-time!

There will be three minutes added on!

It's a good chance for Dembélé.

Yamal plays the Frenchman in but he fails to connect and Rui Silva collects it.

Yamal becomes Barça's youngest ever player in LaLiga. He's not 16 until July. What were you doing on a Saturday night at 15?

Yamal makes debut

The 15-year-old is on!

Barcelona 4-0 Betis

Ansu Fati drops his shoulder and goes to the byline before crossing with his left foot. Guido ends up putting it into his own net when he tries to clear it.

Joaquín has a knee problem. He's had to go off but Betis have already used all their subs and are now down to nine men.

It's not looking good for Joaquín, who has gone down.

Betis, with 10 men, have managed to not concede in this second half. 

Xavi's side have had their chances and could be winning 5-0 or 6-0 but it has remained somewhat respectable.

Betis change

OFF Sergio Canales

ON Juanmi

Barcelona changes

Kessié and Dembélé come on.

Xavi did say Barcelona missed Dembélé, who gets a huge reception when he runs on.

Dembélé is about to come on for Barcelona, three months after his last game. 

Betis have rarely threatened and Barcelona have complete control. A win tonight will see them move 11 points clear of Real Madrid, who beat Alméria 4-2 earlier today.

ARAÚJO!

That was close!

Koundé heads Raphinha's corner to the back post, where Araújo is all alone, but he heads over.

Betis subs

OFF Ayoze Perez

ON Abner

OFF Juan Miranda

ON Joaquín

And what a reception he is getting! An absolute legend of the game. We'll all miss Joaquín.

Joaquín is coming on for his last ever game at Camp Nou.

Raphinha curls the free to the back post for Araújo to head it back in across goal. Betis deal with the danger. 3-0

88,530 here on a wet night at Camp Nou.

Lewandowski cracks an effort off the post!

Pedri slips him in and the former Bayern man hits the post with a left-footed shot. 

That really should have been four. He was all alone, well, just him and Rui Silva.

Barcelona are pushing for a fourth goal.

Busquets clips a ball over the Betis backline but Raphinha is offside.

Betis subs, including Joaquín, are out warming up.

Pedri plays a long diagonal pass over the top for Lewandowski but it's just overhit.

Barcelona were dominant in the first half and lead 3-0 in case you're just joining us. 

Betis are also down to 10 men!

Betis change

Here's the confirmation of that Betis change.

Luiz Henrique has been substituted and Paul Akouokou has come on in his place.

I have a Betis change to report.

We're underway for the second half!

Barcelona lead 3-0 at half-time. Betis are down to 10 men and you feel it will be a long night for the Andalusian side. 

Christensen, Lewandowski and Raphinha have scored the goals for the league leaders.

Barcelona 3-0 up

Xavi's side is flying!

There's the whistle for the break!

Raphinha swings the corner in from the right.

Guido clears with a free header.

There will be five extra minutes played at the end of the first half.

Barcelona 3-0 Betis

Raphinha was in the correct position when the pass was played and he finished really well past Rui Silva.

The assist from Busquets is world-class. He takes three defenders out with the ball to the Brazilian forward.

VAR says goal. Raphinha has his goal and Betis have fallen apart. 

They're 3-0 down with 10 men. It's going to be a long night.

This VAR check is taking quite a while...

So Barça have the ball in the net for a third time but now it's going to VAR.

RAPHINHA SCORES!

... but he's offside

Barça double their lead!

It's 2-0 at Camp Nou!

LEWANDOWSKI scores his 19th league goal of the season and his second in three days.

Koundé sends in the cross from the right and the Barcelona No 9 finishes it first time into the far corner of the net.

Edgar was only on the field of play for 20 minutes!

He replaced the injured Luiz Felipe and was then sent off. 

Barcelona are 1-0 up with an extra man.

He was on a yellow and he takes Pedri down in a needless challenge.

Betis are down to 10 men.

Joaquín is going mad on the bench.

RED CARD

Edgar has been SENT OFF!

WILLIAN JOSÉ!

The striker picks it up about 25 yards out and drives it well wide.

Luiz Henrique is played in in the inside left channel but Christensen reads it perfectly and clears the danger.

Pedri is now back on his feet.

The medical team are on to attend to Pedri after an elbow from Ayoze. 

Raphinha curls the free-kick low from distance. Rui Silva gets down to his right to keep it out. 1-0

Edgar is booked for taking down Raphinha.

It's absolutely lashing at Camp Nou! 

The left-backs on both sides have been getting forward at every opportunity. Balde is lightning quick and offers the home side an outlet when Gavi moves centrally.

Miranda gets down the left once again and his cross is better this time but Luiz Henrique can't hit the target and his effort goes wide.

Miranda crosses from the left. Canales goes to the near post, but Ter Stegen is there to collect.

Betis are now having their spell of possession after conceding.

Barcelona 1-0 Betis

Christensen breaks the deadlock

Christensen returns to the side after missing five games with a calf injury and he has broken the deadlock.

Raphinha sends in a superb inswinging cross from the right and Christensen is there to head home.

It looks like a muscular problem that has forced Luiz Felipe off.

Betis change

OFF Luiz Felipe

ON Edgar Gonzalez

Betis have been forced into an early change.

Betis defender Luiz Felipe is down and is now getting treatment.

The rain is coming down now and some fans already have their sandwiches out. 

De Jong has been impressive in the opening 10 minutes and he plays it into Lewandowski's feet. The striker picks out Raphinha on the right but his low cross is poor.

Pedri gets to the byline but his cross is blocked and Betis clear.

Balde goes on a long run down the left but Betis defend it well eventually and win possession back.

Barcelona have seen most of the ball so far. Raphinha and Lewandowski are their most advanced players.

Betis head coach Manuel Pellegrini has made three changes.

Montoya comes in at right-back in place of Ruibal, and Luiz Henrique and Willian José start in place of Guardado and Rodri. 

Christensen and Busquets have both come into the side that lost against Rayo during the week.

Barcelona are playing from left to right in their home colours.

We're expecting an open game here in Barcelona. There could be goals. 

We're underway at Camp Nou!

Barcelona have only won one of their last five matches in all competitions, which includes a 4-0 Copa del Rey thrashing by arch-rivals Madrid at Camp Nou. 

The teams are in the tunnel at Camp Nou.

With the defeat to Rayo in midweek, Barça can take their total points tally to 97 points for the season.

Betis all set

They've won just two of their last 10 games in all competitions.

With Real Madrid's win over Almería today, the gap at the top has been reduced to 8 points. 

A win for Barcelona tonight will see them go 11 points clear again with six games to go.

Joaquín

Joaquín gets a nice reception from the home faithful. We'll all miss him.

Barcelona XI

Betis XI

Almost ready to go!

The warm-ups are underway at Camp Nou.

I have a pre-match stat for you. Barça are the only team in LaLiga that have yet to lose a home game this season!

LALIGA

Ousmane Dembélé returns for Barcelona vs Real Betis: how many games did he miss?

Dembélé’s last appearance came on 28 January away to Girona, a game in which he was forced off in the first half. Barcelona won 1-0 to go six points clear of Los Blancos, who slipped up a day later by drawing at home to Real Sociedad.

In Dembélé's absence, the Catalans have extended their lead to the extent that they had LaLiga all but wrapped up by mid-March, although they have done so by grinding out wins and taking advantage of Madrid’s drop-off in form rather than by blowing the rest of the league away.

Indeed, Barça have won only one of last five fixtures in all competitions and scored just two goals in those matches. Dembélé's return should add extra spark to the forward line.

Betis XI

Head coach Pellegrini has made three changes.

Montoya comes in at right-back in place of Ruibal, and Luiz Henrique and Willian José start in place of Guardado and Rodri. 

Betis bench

Bravo, Edgar, Ruibal, Dani Martín, Rodri, Guardado, Cruz, Paul, Joaquín, Juanmi.

Betis struggling for victories

Betis sit in the final European spot (6th) but have been in poor form recently, only posting one win in their last five matches and only two in their last 10 (in all competitions).

Betis XI

Canales captains the away side at Camp Nou.

Barcelona XI

Here's your Barcelona team!

Christensen comes back into the side, as does Busquets. Dembélé starts on the bench after his spell on the sidelines.

No Panda

Borja Iglesias is Betis' main absentee for their LaLiga clash with Barcelona.

Manuel Pellegrini confirmed in his press conference that the Galician player will not be included in the squad for the trip to Camp Nou.

The striker suffered a knock recently and is still not fully recovered. 

The big news is the expected return of Juanmi, who has been out for several games and could even be included in Pellegrini's starting eleven.

Barcelona players arrive

We're less than 90 minutes to kick-off and the players are on their way in. 

LALIGA

Rayo Vallecano vs Barcelona summary: García goal, score, goals, highlights, LaLiga

It was a Vallecas victory for Rayo against Barcelona on Wednesday.

Despite the defeat, the Blaugrana are still 11 points ahead of Real Madrid in second place. 

That gap is expected to be reduced to 8 points for a couple of hours at least as Real Madrid are currently beating Almería at the Bernabéu.

Rayo moved up to 9th place in the table with the win over Xavi's men but suffered a shock 4-0 defeat to Elche earlier today.

Barcelona’s poor recent form

Barça head into Saturday’s clash against Betis on their worst run of form of the season.

They’ve won only one of their last five matches in all competitions, which includes a 4-0 Copa del Rey thrashing by arch-rivals Madrid at Camp Nou. 

In those games, they have scored only two goals (in their last two outings), the last of which wasn’t enough to prevent a defeat to Rayo Vallecano in midweek.

Béticos in Barcelona

Betis fans travel very well. Today's trip is a long one from south to north but you can guarantee they will be here to make some noise.

Today's venue

It's quiet around Camp Nou now but the atmosphere will start building soon.

Barcelona vs Real Betis: welcome!

Hello and welcome to AS USA's live coverage of this match between Barcelona and Real Betis.

It's Kieran in today and I'll be with you for the next few hours for this intriguing LaLiga fixture.