Barcelona face Betis, PSG and Real Madrid in eight days, and a Clásico without Vinicius

Saturday evening in Seville (6.30pm local) opens the run that fills Barcelona’s autumn: Betis in LaLiga, Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday 20 October in the Champions League, then Real Madrid at home on 25 October. The leaders, seven wins from seven league games and 21 points, start against awkward opposition: third on 16 points, Betis sit above Real Madrid in the table and beat them 1-0 on 8 September.

The Clásico will be played without Vinicius

The third fixture loses its most dangerous forward: sent off against Villarreal (a 1-0 win) for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair, Vinicius Jr has been banned four matches, two for violent conduct and two for protests. He will miss Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander and Valencia, so the Brazilian stays in the dressing room on 25 October. The details of the ban are in our previous report.

On Movistar+, José Mourinho questioned the timing of the announcement: “If the committee has issued the sanction against Vinicius now, it is because it believes it can have an impact. Why not do it tomorrow morning, rather than two hours before an important match for Real Madrid?” Endrick sees a vendetta: “they will always go after him. When he comes back, he will be stronger than ever.”

The fixture also lands in the middle of the war between Real Madrid and LaLiga: Tebas stands by his comparison between the club’s communication and the “Goebbels method” and will not withdraw it, despite the threat of sanctions the CSD is said to be considering according to news agency EFE. Real Madrid have demanded his immediate resignation. We cover the affair in our story.

PSG live exactly the same week

Tuesday’s opponents have no gentler schedule: Strasbourg on Saturday (5.15pm at the Meinau), Barcelona on Tuesday, then Lyon at the Parc des Princes on Sunday 25. Both clubs walk through the same eight days, each from its own side.

Tonight the market makes no allowance: PSG are 1.45 with 1xbet despite sitting sixth in Ligue 1 (11 points from six games), Strasbourg 6.81, the draw 5.60 with 10BET. Both teams to score trades at 1.51 with BetMGM, a touch more than three chances in five once the margin is stripped out. Strasbourg beat PSG 2-1 at the Meinau in May 2025, and PSG won 2-1 there last February. The full analysis and the pick are in our match preview. 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.