Valencia will welcome Champions League hopefuls Real Betis to Estadio de Mestalla this Tuesday with both sides looking to take home maximum points.
Venue: Estadio de Mestalla (Valencia)
Key Statistics
Valencia have won none of their last six league games (four draws and two losses).
The hosts are without a win in their 11 previous matches against teams currently sitting inside the top six (D4, L7)
No La Liga side has picked up more yellow cards (118) or red (8) than Valencia.
Real Betis have scored just one goal across their last four league games.
Only the league’s top two sides have collected more points on the road (29) than Betis.
But they have just one away win in their last five away league games (three draws and one loss).
Head to head
Real Betis are unbeaten in their last four head-to-head meetings against Valencia (three wins and one draw).
Latest performances in all competitions
Valencia: D-D-L-L-L
Real Betis: L-D-W-L-D
Valencia
Valencia will look to win their first game since the end of March when they welcome Real Betis to Estadio de Mestalla this Tuesday.
The host’s miserable run of form continued last time out as they were held to a goalless draw by Athletic Bilbao. In a largely one-sided match at Estadio San Mamés, José Bordalás’s team were second-best for much of the game. But to their credit, they remained stout in defence despite losing their main defensive man, Gabriel Paulista, on the stroke of half-time. They also were reduced to ten men very late in the game as Hugo Guillamon received a second yellow card deep into stoppage time.
The result extended their winless run to seven games in all competitions and also leaves ‘Los Che’ sitting in tenth position, three games to the end of the season. And so they come into this tie with nothing to play for save for pride and perhaps to revenge their 2-1 loss to Betis in the Copa del Rey final last month.
But given that they have struggled when playing the league’s best sides, a win in this game looks unlikely for them.
Possible Valencia starting line-up
Mamardashvili; Thierry Correira, Mouctar Diakhaby, Omar Alderete, Dimitri Foulquier, Jesus Vazquez; Carlos Soler, Uros Racic, Ilaix Moriba; Maximiliano Gomez, Goncalo Guedes.
Injured: Gabriel Paulista
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Hugo Guillamon
Real Betis
Real Betis will look to get their quest for a top-four finish back on track when they travel to the Eastern part of Spain on Tuesday.
The hosts’ chances of finishing in the Champions League spots took a big hit last weekend as they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona. The result which extended their winless run in the league to four games means that they come into this tie sitting in fifth place, six points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid with just three games to play.
And so, their chances of finishing in the top four are now very slim. Despite how poor the season seems to be ending for them, their Copa Del Rey success this season has eased some of the pressure around their poor recent league run.
Winning the trophy also means that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have at least sealed their participation in the Europa League group stage next season. But they will be desperate to get back to winning ways, regardless.
But scoring goals has been their most obvious problem and their total of one across the last four gameweeks is the fewest for any La Liga side across that period.
If they fail to win this game, it could open the door for sixth-placed Real Sociedad to leapfrog them into fifth when they take on Cadiz later in the week, so the result of this game could have huge ramifications for Betis’ season.
Possible Real Betis starting line-up
Rui Silva; Youssouf Sabaly, German Pezzella, Edgar Gonzalez, Juan Miranda; Andres Guardado, William Carvalho; Juanmi Jimenez, Nabil Fekir, Sergio Canales; William Jose.
Injured: Martin Montoya, Victor Camarasa, Hector Bellerin, Claudio Bravo
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Valencia 0-1 Real Betis
