Sevilla – Real Betis

Betis can take advantage of Sevilla’s fatigue

On Sunday 21 May, Sevilla take on Betis at home. Both teams are tournament motivated. Betis are fighting for fifth place with Villarreal. Sevilla are one point behind the coveted seventh place, which guarantees the team a European place next season if the club loses in the Europa League final. In the meantime, the upcoming match will be a big test for Sevilla. Too much effort has been put into the historic clash with Juventus. The match was one of the best in the current European cup season. The teams took more than 40 shots toward each other's goals. Sevilla have won a very entertaining match, but it is hard to recover from such a football feast in three days. That is the main disadvantage in the run-up to the derby. Plus, the Europa League is clearly a priority. All our thoughts are already focused on the final with Roma, which is less than two weeks away. Sevilla are in great form in the Spanish championship. In the last ten matches, the club is in third place, behind only Atletico and Barcelona. Sevilla's breakthrough is logically attributed to the third coach of the season, José Luis Mendilibar. The specialist has not only been able to find an approach to the players, but also a balance between defence and attack, something the previous coaches lacked. Sevilla have a very skilful and quick attacking line-up. Nesiri was the best player in La Liga in April. In addition to the Moroccan, Ocampos, who returned in January, and the experienced Eric Lamela make an important impact. That said, the match against Betis will probably be played with a relatively reserve line-up, as was the case in the game against Valladolid. Back then, Papu Gomez and Rafa Mir came on as attackers. The result was still positive. Betis had a severe crisis behind them. Pellegrini's men have won two games in a row. The minimum target has been met - the team are back in the European competitions. Betis beat Athletic away and Rayo Vallecano. At the same time, the team are still missing Nabil Fekir. The attacking leader continues to be plagued by injuries. Unfortunately, the squad's problems do not end there. Defender Sabaly and midfielder Carvalho are both questionable for the derby due to muscle injuries. Sevilla will find it difficult to build on their success after an emotional battle with Juventus. The coach will have to replace many of the leaders so as not to risk their condition. Betis, thanks to their freshness, have a good chance of even winning. The team now has an ideal moment to beat their arch-rival. The last head-to-head matches have been evenly matched. In the distance of ten meetings - not a single defeat. An even matchup is likely now as well.