The Betis want to continue in the fight for the European places and will want to take advantage of another game at the VillamarÃn, where they have only lost one game in the harvest, while the babazorros had a positive month of January that they will seek to transfer to a streak that will make them avoid relegation as soon as possible
Real Betis: The visitor's negative streak ends
A single goal, scored by the young midfielder Sergi Altimira, gave the victory to the Andalusians against Mallorca on the day 22 of the league. The result leaves the Verdiblancos just two points behind Real Sociedad, which occupies the last place in access to European competitions.. Betis' victory meant the end of two streaks: those led by Manuel Pellegrini had not gained visitors for five and a half months, while the Balearic team had not lost at home in the league since 20 of August.
The visitors took the initiative from the start, circulating the ball with pause from side to side and trying to find the talent of Isco and the Frenchman between the lines. It would be Luiz Henrique (his signing to Botafogo has already been finalized) who would have the first chance with a left-footed shot that Rajkovic sent to the corner, and a couple more dangerous arrivals on the right.
But nevertheless, Mallorca had a very electric game at the start, closing spaces at the back and looking for quick transitions with Sergi Darder as the shooter and two great finishers in the area, like Abdón Prats and Larin. It was precisely Prats who had the best chance for the vermillions in the first half, with a spectacular header against the crossbar after a good cross from the left by Lato.
It would be in first-half stoppage time that Altimira would manage to score the decisive goal after an assist from Fekir.. The Catalan declared after the game: “I am very happy not only for the goal, also for the victory. The three points were very important for us”. Asked how he feels about the departure of important players from the team, He confessed that “It makes us stronger. When there is more adversity, the stronger we get”.
Alaves: Little noise at the end of the winter market
Vitorians have experienced a fairly quiet winter market, following the strategy of avoiding sensitive exits and getting some reinforcement if economically possible. The only way out so far, because coach GarcÃa Plaza has not involved him much so far this campaign, it's Jon Karrikaburu's, which was on loan from Real Sociedad, His contract ended and he was sent by the neighbors to play the rest of the season at F.C.. Andorra trained by Eder Sarabia.
On the other hand, Carlos Vicente finished his loan with Racing de Ferrol and is now playing very frequently in Vitoria, where he has already accumulated four appearances with two goal assists. The other entry was that of Julen Jon Guerrero, signed from Real Madrid, who until now has only played with the youth reserve team.
Defender Nikola Maras was rumored to return to Rayo Vallecano but the operation did not materialize and he finally ended up on loan at Levante. The French central defender Lejeune commented on Saturday in Donostia that in Vallecas the return of the Serbian to Rayo was taken for granted (played on loan during the season 2021-22).
We must also consider that the need for the Basques to bring in a center back is no longer so urgent.. Tenaglia and Duarte, natural sides, They have responded very well in their reconversion to the center of defense, while Abqar, eliminated with Morocco in the African Cup, Return to Glorioso training tomorrow.
Ups and downs for the match
The green and white will not have the injured Guido RodrÃguez or Marc Bartra. Aitor Ruibal's participation is in doubt, Marc Roca, William Carvalho and Ayoze Perez. They have already returned from the African Cup Chadi Riyadh, Abde Ezzalzouli and Youssouf Sabaly (has discomfort).
The Vitorians recover Andoni Gorosabel after sanction for accumulation of cards. Aleksandar Sedlar is still injured but Abdel Abqar is now available.
The Benito VillamarÃn Stadium is located on Avenida de la Palmera in the Heliópolis neighborhood of Seville., Spain, and has a capacity of 60.721 viewers. In August 2023 A remodeling of the facilities was planned and is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2024 and last two years. While the works are under construction, The team will play its matches at the Estadio de la Cartuja.
The match will be played on Sunday 18 from February to 21:00, Spain time. To find out which channels will broadcast the match in your country, Visit the official page of La Liga EA Sports of Spain, Where to watch the league and select your current location.
Prediction
The injuries at Betis this season have been a very hard blow to their aspirations. In that sense, Fekir's return is wonderful news for Pellegrini, but the engineer still aspires to bring a couple more players in winter to cover the losses.
The first round match ended in a tie. 1, and the clash they had in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey was for the Basques, with marker 1-0. But nevertheless, Betis becomes very strong in VillamarÃn and with Isco and Fekir healthy, The Verdiblancos have a lot of creativity and goals.
