Barcelona v Real Betis: La Liga – live!

32 min: Betis fly forward and Gerard Piqué cuts across Loren, fouling the forward and earning a booking in the process. Fekir has a go from 25 yards but Ter Stegen pats a stinging shot away from danger. It was a comfortable save.

31 min: And now Sidnei makes a strong – but seemingly fair – challenge on Griezmann. Barcelona are really not having it all their own way. And not only are Barça struggling to breach Betis, they are struggling to contain them too …

30 min: Carles Pérez bombs to the byline but Andrés Guardado throws himself to the floor to make life difficult and get a crucial block in. Betis zoom up the other end and Fekir buys a clever foul to relieve some heavy pressure.

28 min: It is early days but that Fekir strike means the France forward has pretty nifty conversion rate: it was his first La Liga goal (in his second game) with his maiden shot on target in the competition. Not bad going – it was a super finish.

25 min: It is panic stations in the Betis box as a corner kindly drops for Griezmann, but the Frenchman’s shot is expertly blocked. Betis have already shown they are happy to dig their heels in.

23 min: In the posh seats, Luis Suárez is gnawing on his hand and Lionel Messi’s children cannot bear to look. It’s not going to plan for Barça. It is not for the want of trying, with Sergi Roberto’s rattling strike deflected over the bar.

21 min: Another long spell of possession ends on a bum-note, with Gerard Piqué overcooking a pass over the top for Carles Pérez.

19 min: Barcelona go back to knocking the ball around rather serenely but the reality is they are behind, despite dominating the first 15 minutes. Fekir seized the one sniff of goal he was given, while Valverde’s side have squandered a couple of half-chances, with Sergi Roberto’s header arguably their best opening.

Against the run of play, Nabil Fekir strikes. Busquets passes up possession on halfway and Loren slips in Fekir, whose finish is truly sumptuous. Sloppy as far as Barça will be concerned but a brilliant goal for Betis, who had very much been second best during the opening stages in Catalonia. It had been one-way traffic. Now, how will Ernesto Valverde’s men respond? They haven’t lost their opening two league matches since 1964-65.

12 min: Jordi Alba plays a wonderful cross from the left and Sergi Roberto has a free header – but he gets it all wrong. The midfielder should do better.

11 min: An encouraging start by Carles Pérez, who skirts round the edge of the Betis box while clinging on to possession. Betis have 11 men behind the ball and they are already having to dig deep to fend off the hosts.

9 min: More of the same from Barça. It is going to be a long evening for Betis at this rate. Griezmann looks in the mood to wreak havoc and the visitors are struggling to get near him.

6 min: Antoine Griezmann’s deflected shot cannons just wide of goal! Barça are certainly taking the game to their opponents.

5 min: Betis seem fragile defensively, with Carles Pérez doing superbly, drifting inside before laying the ball on a plate for Frenkie de Jong on the penalty spot. But the Dutchman is caught cold and freezes in possession and Betis turn it over.

4 min: Betis are stretched – but Rafinha cannot catch the ball cleanly and Martin makes a strong save! Griezmann bulldozed into a challenge, with the loose ball running kindly into the path of Jordi Alba, who played in Rafinha and then almost ended up back in the thick of things. But Betis clear their lines.

1 min: Barcelona hog possession early on, with Gerard Piqué – this his 500th appearance for the club – knocking the ball about in the defence. Frenkie de Jong is playing in the left of a midfield three, with Barcelona 4-3-3. All Barça in the opening stages.

Ernesto Valverde will hope he doesn’t come to need him – but the Barcelona manager has named 16-year-old Ansu Fati on his substitutes’ bench. The forward, who was born in Guinea-Bissau, has excelled as part of Víctor Valdés’s youth side and, with Messi, Suárez and Dembélé all absent, there is room for the teenager on the bench. If he does jump off the bench, he will become the youngest Barça debutant since Vicente Martínez in 1941-42. Messi is currently fifth on the all time youngest ever list, making his debut at 17 years and 114 days old in 2004. Another youngster, the 21-year-old Carles Pérez, makes his first La Liga start for the champions, forming part of the Barça front three.

Essential pre-match reading, courtesy of Jonathan Wilson:

Recap Saturday’s action across the continent:

There is a game about to be played at Camp Nou – but that doesn’t stop the rumour mill working overtime. There is talk swirling around that Juventus have met with representatives of the Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who is on the bench this evening. As for Neymar, that noise just will not go away, with the Brazilian linked with a return to Barcelona before next Monday’s transfer deadline.

Team news news: Gerard Piqué makes his 500th appearance in a Barcelona shirt, after making his debut in 2008 against Racing Santander. Antoine Griezmann will lead the line but there is no Lionel Messi, as expected. As for Betis, Nabil Fekir caused problems for Barça with Lyon last season, while the manager Rubi, a member of the 2013-14 Barça coaching staff, has called on former Barça players Marc Bartra and Cristian Tello from the off, while two more, Kaptoum and summer signing Junior Firpo, are among those on the bench. The Barcelona team does not look quite so regal with Messi but there is no shortage of ability.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Sergi Roberto, De Jong; Pérez, Griezmann, Rafinha

Subs: Fati, Rakitic, Sotorres, Firpo, Umtiti, Vidal, Melo

Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Martin; Pedraza, Sidnei, Bartra, Emerson; Guardado, Carvalho; Tello, Canales, Fekir; Loren

Subs: Dani Rebollo, Mandi, Javi Garcia, Kaptoum, Joaquin, Lainez, Juanmi

Referee: José Luis González

Believe it or not, Barcelona kick-off 18th in La Liga. A shock opening-day defeat to Athletic Bilbao left the Messi-less champions pointless but they can get back on song with victory over Real Betis this evening. The season is of course only 90 minutes old and It seems unlikely that Barça will depart Camp Nou empty-handed given they won 15 of their 19 league on home soil last season, while Ernesto Valverde will demand more from those who flattered to deceive last time out. Betis are no mugs – they finished 10th last season – but defeat to Real Valladolid hardly set the pulses racing and leaves them with an unenviable task in Catalonia. In terms of team news, Messi is not part of the 18-man squad owing to a pesky calf injury despite returning to first-team training, which is a crying shame. Neither are Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé.

Kick-off: 8pm (BST)