Ronald Koeman will be furious with his Barcelona side at the break. They've dominated the contest and should be out of sight. Griezmann has missed a penalty and struck the post. Ansu Fati and Dembele have also had further openings, but they've been wasteful in front of goal. Barca need a response in the second half.
Barcelona and Real Betis are all square heading into the break in their LaLiga clash. Ousmane Dembele put the home side ahead with a fine strike after 22 minutes. However, Antoine Griezmann failed to double their advantage from the penalty spot, seeing his effort saved by Claudio Bravo. Antonio Sanabria punished the Catalan club by equalising with a close-range poke just before the interval.
45' + 3' HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-1 REAL BETIS
45' + 1' Fati puts pressure on Emerson at the back for the visitors, but he brings down the defender. The teenager has be to careful having already been booked.
45' There will be three minutes of added time.
42' Barca try to build down the right flank. Dembele sees his first cross blocked by Moreno, but his second challenges the Betis defence. Emerson is forced to head it behind, conceding a corner.
39' CLOSE! Moreno surges down the left flank and rolls the ball back to Tello on the edge of the box. The forward goes for a first-time strike on his right foot, but sends his effort narrowly over the bar.
35' Alba surges down the left flank and fires a low ball across the face of goal. However, it evades both Griezmann and Dembele attacking it late at the back post.
31' PENALTY TO BARCELONA! Mandi sticks out a leg and brings down Fati in the box as he tries to attack a low cross from Alba. The referee points to the spot.
29' Joaqiuin floats a cross into the box from the right flank, but his delivery evades Carvalho at the back post and travels out for a goal-kick.
28' Alba brings down Emerson on the right flank and hands Betis a free-kick in a dangerous position.
26' OFF THE POST! Griezmann should double his side's lead, but his left-footed strike clips the left post and travels wide. Pedri flicks a sublime offload into his path following a low ball from Alba. Griezmann strikes low and hard towards the bottom-left corner, but is denied by the frame.
24' Barca were creating chances in the early stages, but lacked the clinical edge. Dembele displayed his prowess there to give his side control of the game.
21' Tello collects 25 yards from goal and lines up a strike from distance, but he sends his effort straight into the hands of Ter Stegen.
18' Dembele has a charge down the right flank and he tries to send in a cross, but Moreno does enough to fend him off and earn a goal-kick for the visitors.
17' WIDE! Moreno has acres of space down the left flank and he lets fly with a strike at goal from the inside channel, only to drag his shot wide of the right post.
15' There is space for Barca to exploit and the pace of Fati has been an issue for Betis. Expect the Catalan club to feed the Spain international today.
13' Both teams are playing open football in the early stages of the game. However, the quality in finishing in the final third has not been up to standard yet.
11' WIDE! Chances continue to come thick and fast. Griezmann runs at the Betis defence and shoots from the edge of the box on his right foot. He pokes his effort just wide of the right post with Bravo beaten.
9' SHOT! Fati runs down the right flank on the counter and blasts a low strike towards the near post. Bravo sticks out a leg to divert it away from the net and behind for a corner.
8' SAVE! Ter Stegen is on his mettle to deny Carvalho. The Portuguese rises highest in the box to direct Canales' corner towards goal, but the German gets across to palm it away from danger.
8' CLOSE! Tello surges down the left flank and cuts the ball back towards the middle. Busquets sticks out a boot to cut out the cross, but narrowly avoids scoring an own goal. The ball creeps past the left post and behind for a corner.
6' WIDE! Fati runs at the Betis defence down the left flank and goes for a curling strike on his right foot towards the bottom-right corner. However, his effort just trickles wide of the target.
5' CHANCE! Fati pounces on a Betis mistake at the back and surges into the box in the right inside channel. He cuts an offload back to Griezmann, who lines up a left-footed strike, but sends his effort wide of the left post.
3' It has been a stop-start affair in the early stages. Barca are trying to get their foot on the ball to control possession.
1' We're underway at Camp Nou.
Barcelona have only lost one of their last 18 LaLiga games against Real Betis (W14 D3), but that defeat came at Camp Nou, in their last meeting in the month of November in the competition (3-4 in 2018).
There is just the one change for Betis this afternoon from their win over Elche. Influential midfielder Nabil Fekir misses out with a hamstring problem and is replaced by Carvalho. It's a different style of player, which suggests that Pellegrini may opt for a defensive strategy this afternoon.
Messi does not feature in the starting line-up for Barca in LaLiga for the first time in over a year. The Argentine is one of three changes from the win over Kiev during the week. Dembele replaces him in the final third, while Sergi Roberto gets the nod ahead of Dest at right back. Lenglet slots back into the defence, allowing De Jong to push forward. Pjanic makes way from the midfield.
REAL BETIS SUBS: Joel Robles, Martin Montoya, Paul Akouokou, Victor Ruiz, Borja Iglesias, Loren Moron, Diego Lainez, Aitor Ruibal, Rodrigo Sanchez, Carlos Marin, Juan Miranda.
REAL BETIS (4-3-3): Claudio Bravo; Emerson, Aissa Mandi, Marc Barta, Alex Moreno; William Carvalho, Guido Rodriguez, Sergio Canales; Joaquin, Antonio Sanabria, Cristian Tello.
BARCELONA SUBS: Sergino Dest, Carles Alena, Miralem Pjanic, Martin Braithwaite, Lionel Messi, Riqui Puig, Neto, Trincao, Junior Firpo, Oscar Mingueza, Konrad De la Fuente, Arnau Tenas.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pedri; Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, Ansu Fati.
Real Betis ended a run of back-to-back defeats to get their solid start to the term back on track. Manuel Pellegrini's men were beaten by Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid, but produced a strong performance last time out to beat Elche 3-1 on home soil. They're four points clear of Barca to begin the afternoon and could push towards the top four with another victory.
Barcelona have endured a sluggish start to their LaLiga campaign, taking only eight points from their opening six matches. They are winless in four games, including their 1-1 draw against Deportivo Alaves last time out. The Catalan club are well off the pace and need to find their form quickly. Ronald Koeman's men overcame Dynamo Kiev during the week in the Champions League and need another victory this afternoon.
Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the LaLiga clash between Barcelona and Real Betis at Camp Nou.
