Real Betis vs Athletic Club match preview and predictions for Wednesday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Manuel Pellegrini’s side continue their push for European football.
| Date | Wednesday 21st April 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 20:00 (local time) |
| Stadium | Benito Villamarin |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Real Betis vs Athletic Club Preview
Athletic Club are back in Seville, a city they’ll probably be sick of the sight of after their recent cup final defeats, this week to face Real Betis in LaLiga. Betis’ hopes of European football were boosted by Barca’s Copa del Rey Final win and they’ll fancy their chances of putting three points on the board here.
They might feel as though they owe Athletic one after the Basques scored a dramatic late equaliser in a Copa del Rey Quarter Final on this ground earlier in the year before winning the shootout. Betis have gone from strength to strength since then and with no distractions have put themselves into a very strong position to play in Europe in 2021/22.
They head into this match on the back of three straight draws. The last two have both been at the Benito Villamarin with Atletico Madrid and Valencia leaving with points but they haven’t really been punished for their slight dip in form with just two points currently separating Villarreal, Betis and Real Sociedad in the race for the lesser European places.
As for Athletic Club, they return to Seville after a second really disappointing showing in a Copa del Rey Final. They were outplayed in a 4-0 defeat by Barcelona on Saturday evening having suffered a 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad a fortnight earlier. They barely created a chance across the two Finals and it’s pretty clear now that the Marcelino honeymoon period is over.
He will face a tough job now in trying to motivate these players for the remainder of this season. They are 11th in LaLiga and without a chance of qualifying for Europe unless we see further developments regarding the European Super League altering those places. All of Athletic’s last 4 league games have finished all square and their record of just two away league wins all season has prevented them from breaking into the top half and challenging further up the table.
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Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 1 Betis Win, 3 Athletic Wins, 2 Draws.
- The sides have met twice already this season with Athletic winning the league game 4-0 at San Mames.
- They also met in a Copa del Rey Quarter-Final in Seville with Athletic winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
- The last 5 meetings at the Benito Villamarin have produced 2 wins each and a draw.
Team News
Betis have no fresh selection problems.
Athletic may rotate somewhat after cup heartbreak. They are missing Ander Capa to suspension.
Predicted Betis Starting Lineup:
Bravo – Miranda, Ruiz, Mandi, Emerson – Rodriguez, Guardado – Fekir, Canales, Lainez – Iglesias (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Athletic Club Starting Lineup:
Simon – Berchiche, Martinez, Yeray, De Marcos – Muniain, Vencedor, Dani Garcia, Berenguer – Williams, Villalibre (4-4-2)
Real Betis vs Athletic Club Predictions
Score Prediction: Real Betis 2-0 Athletic Club
Recent results suggest a draw is the likely outcome here but you sense Athletic will be both mentally and physically exhausted after a tough few weeks. Marcelino may rotate but they don’t have the strongest of squads and Real Betis may well exert their authority on this game and continue their strong second half of the season.
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