Barcelona boss Xavi could hand Ousmane Dembele a spot in the starting XI for Saturday afternoon's La Liga contest with Real Betis at Camp Nou.

Dembele has now featured in his team's last two matches after recovering from a hamstring problem, and the France international is now expected to be considered for a start.

The Catalan giants remain without the services of a number of players, though, with Martin Braithwaite, Ansu Fati, Pedri, Sergio Aguero, Sergi Roberto and Dani Alves all unavailable for selection.

Barcelona are hopeful that Jordi Alba will recover from the muscular problem that he picked up in the 3-1 victory over Villarreal last time out.

As a result, there could be just the one change from the side that started against the Yellow Submarine, with Dembele coming in for Abde Ezzalzouli.

Sergino Dest has been out of favour at Barcelona since Xavi's arrival as head coach, and the defender could again be on the bench alongside Oscar Mingueza, with Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia set to keep their spots in the back four.

Gavi and Nico Gonzalez have both become important players for Barcelona, and the pair are also expected to continue in the starting XI this weekend.

Barcelona possible starting lineup: Ter Stegen; Garcia, Araujo, Pique, Alba; F de Jong, Busquets, Nico; Dembele, Memphis, Gavi body check tags ::