Vilanova: Betis can hold their own against Barcelona

09-Dec-2012 12:30:00 AM

The Catalans boss is expecting an exciting match on Sunday and is also wary of the threat that the Andalusians pose as they have made a lot of progress in the league this season

Tito Vilanova says that he is aware of Barcelona’s recent record against Betis and has predicted that both sides will go for the win.

The Spaniard's team have not picked up three points at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in any of their last five visits and were held to a 2-2 stalemate in the fixture last season, with the visitors only scraping a draw late on.

"We have had bad results against them in the past and we have failed to win there a few times now," Vilanova said at his press conference.

"It is important to remember that they beat Real Madrid there two weeks ago and they are a team that can hold their own."

The 44-year-old head coach revealed that his team will set themselves up to win the game as they always do, but also highlighted the fact that Betis will be taking the same approach.

He added: "When the game starts of course we will go out to win as always. However, Betis will do the same so there could be a lot of openings for both sides."

Barcelona are chasing their eighth straight victory away from home while Betis will be hoping to close the gap on third-placed Real Madrid.