Real Betis - 3, Barca - 1

Real Betis gave Barca their first defeat in long time

FC Barcelona lost their undefeated streak against the most unlikely of all opponents - Real Betis. We went in to this match on the back of our 28 consecutive undefeated match and was expecting to add one more to the list. But Real Betis had some other plans. When Guardiola said in the pre-match conference that he is going for the win, everybody thought that he was extending his usual niceties in the match. But the team he put on the field showed that victory was all he had in mind. Pique and Milito formed the centre of defense. Maxwell and Adriano occupied the flanks. The midfield had Xavi, Mascherano and Keita. The front trio had Afellay, Messi and Bojan formed an unusual front trio. The earlier match ended with Almeria winning against Deportivo and has now booked a semi-final clash against Barcelona. Almeria was thrashed 8-0 last time when we played them, but they should consider themselves in a much better form following this result and the Real Madrid result.

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Real Betis vs Barca, Copa Del Rey QF 2nd Leg Preview

The 5-0 victory in the first leg has made tomorrow's second leg of academic interest. But it could be pretty important for the fringe players in the side. Guardiola is expected to rest majority of his stars in the match in Sevilla. Messi who was down with flu has recovered and has made into the squad. the entire squad list is Valdés, Pinto, Adriano, Milito, Piqué, Bartra, Maxwell, Abidal, Mascherano, Keita, Sergio, Iniesta, Xavi, Afellay, Jeffren, Bojan, Messi, Villa and Pedro. Puyol has been left out as a precaution and Alves is injured and will miss this match. The surprise ommision is Thiago from the list. Everyone was expecting him to make the list to travel to Sevilla. Surprisingly only one Barca B player has been called in for this match and that is Batra.

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Dani Alves to be Out for 10-15 Days

Dani Alves will miss out on footballing action for approximately 10-15 days after getting injured in the match against Malaga. Dani Alves has suffered a small tear in his right calf that would keep him out for up to a fortnight. Alves will undergo further tests this Monday, but if he misses the full 15 days, he will be unavailable for the La Liga games against Racing and Hercules and the second leg of the Betis game in the Cup, as well as the first leg of the semis if the team get through. None of those game actually terrifies us. So this becomes a very good time for Alves to get injured and get some rest. He has been playing non-stop since the start of the season and a small break should be good for season ahead. Adriano would be a decent replacement. The only problem for Adriano is that he has majorly played as a left back throughout this season. But then matches against Hercules, Real Betis and a possible clash against Almeria or Deportivo could be the perfect occasion for Adriano to make his claim for that position.