Four years after their last match, Real Betis and FC Barcelona B once again have to face each other in the Second Division, a category that the Barcelona reserves have competed in 21 times since the team was founded in 1970. Eusebio Sacristán's team, competing for the fifth consecutive year in the second tier of Spanish football, hope to improve on being third last season, Barça B's best result in the 'Liga' Adelante (the second division).

This will be the Catalan team's fifth visit to the Benito Villamarín Stadium. Their visits commenced with a 1-0 result in the 1991/92 season. On 4th January 1992, thanks to a solitary goal by Grussman, the team managed by Jarabinsky beat Enriquez Álvarez Costas's team. The Heliopolitan team finished the season in fourth place, earning them a place to play for promotion. After losing against RCD Deportivo de La Coruña, the green-and-white remained in the Second Division and had a rematch against FC Barcelona B in the1992/93 season.

On this occasion, with José Ramón Esnaola on the bench, the Heliopolitan team was surprised by the quality of Costas's youngsters, who won 0-2 with goals by Sergi Barjuán and Ekelund. With 43 points Betis finished the tournament in fifth place and their return to the first division was put off for another year, a setback that did not take the wind out of the fans' sails who continued to support their team.

In the 1993/94 season, Betis were having extraordinary results in the second round of the championship, and they thrashed FC Barcelona B 4-0 with two goals by Márquez, one by Cuéllar, and another by the current Director of Football, Alexis Trujillo. Merino also played in the starting eleven, now the Betis B coach. This win put the team managed by Serra Ferrer close to promotion and just 5 points from direct promotion. After a meteoric performance in the final stages of the league the team gained promotion in Burgos with 51 points and finishing second in the league.

This direct relationship between the presence of Barça B and Real Betis getting promoted continued in the 2010/11 season. Betis were unstoppable in their march toward the top tier of Spanish football, but they were to come across a hard rock in the form of FC Barcelona coached by Luis Enrique, able to get 71 points by the end of the season and earn a valuable draw at the Benito Villamarín Stadium. A match that had to be played on a different day because the scheduled fixture was rained off, Barcelona was able to equal the two goals scored by the home team, Rubén Castro and Roversio. Nolito and Oriol Romeu thwarted a Betis victory who were leaders with 30 points in 14 matches and who were close to promotion to the first division after a brilliant season. Only two players remain in the team from that season, Rubén Castro and Jorge Molina. There was one that resisted the green-and-white club. And that was, despite the amazing statistics (Rubén Castro, 27 goals), he was beaten in the list of top scorers by Javi Guerra (28) and Jonathan Soriano (32), in the 2010/11 season.

Although it is merely anecdotal, the Betis team wants to gain promotion again coinciding with FC Barcelona B, as they did n the last two occasions. To do so, and in the knowledge that there is little room for error during the competition, a victory on Saturday would be crucial. And that Barça B share the moment for the third time, albeit with their presence.