体坛英语新闻：Must win game for Barca as Betis visit Camp Nou

MADRID, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona face a must-win game when they entertain Betis in the Camp Nou in the BBVA Primera Liga on Sunday night.

Barcelona's 1-1 draw away to neighbors, Espanyol, last Sunday saw them slip to five points behind league leaders Real Madrid in the race for the title, and with Madrid playing in Mallorca on Saturday, Barca could find themselves five points behind their rivals by the time they kick off.

The atmosphere surrounding the game (and also Madrid's game in Mallorca) has been affected by the fact that the two sides will play each other twice in the coming 11 days as they meet in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. However, Barca cannot afford to allow that to distract them from three vital points.

Coach Pep Guardiola has an injury crisis to deal with following the injuries suffered by defender Andreu Fontas and winger, Pedro Rodriguez in their Cup win away to Osasuna on Thursday.

Fontas will be out for the season after damaging knee ligaments, while Pedro has a muscle strain that will sideline him for 10 days.

Their absences are added to those of Ibrahima Affelay (knee), David Villa (broken leg) and Seydou Keita, who is away playing in the African Nations Cup, all of which serves to limit Guardiola's options for the game.

Nevertheless, the fact that key players such as Leo Messi, (the Balon D'Or winner) Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves were all rested in midweek implies they will all start on Sunday and players from the Barcelona B team will provide cover on the substitutes' bench.

Betis go into the game after a run of three straight wins from their last three matches. The side coached by Pepe Mel has had a strange campaign on their return to top flight, kicking off the season with four wins, before taking just one point from their nine matches prior to their current good form.

Last season saw the two teams meet twice with Barca beating the then second division side 5-0 in the first leg of a Cup tie, before losing the return leg 3-1 in Seville. Mel assured this week that he had shown his players the video of the 5-0 defeat rather than that of his side's subsequent win.