Real Betis could consolidate second place in Group G of the Europa League if they can beat Ferencvaros in their penultimate match on Thursday evening.
The hosts have lost only one of their last seven home games across all competitions, while the visitors have won each of their last three away matches by an aggregate score of 13-0.
Match preview
© Reuters
Real Betis were able to avoid a fourth successive defeat across all competitions as they beat Elche 3-0 away from home last weekend.
Los Verdiblancos raced into a three-goal lead in the first 27 minutes thanks to strikes from Juanmi, Willian Jose and Nabil Fekir, and despite Hector Bellerin's dismissal midway through the second half, the visitors held on for all three points.
Manuel Pellegrini's men, who currently sit fifth in the La Liga standings, will now turn their focus onto Thursday's important clash against Ferencvaros, with a win required to ensure they remain in second place. In fact, a victory on home soil could confirm their place in the round of 32 if Celtic were to lose against Bayer Leverkusen.
Betis were beaten 4-0 away against Leverkusen in their most recent Europa League game, their heaviest defeat in European competition since 2005, when they were beaten by the same scoreline against Chelsea in the Champions League.
Los Verdiblancos should be confident of returning to winning ways in Group G, as they have won all three of their European matches against Hungarian opposition, beating Budapesti VSC twice in the 1997-98 Cup Winners' Cup as well as winning 3-1 against Ferencvaros in this year's Europa League.
© Reuters
Ferencvaros became the first team to be eliminated from the Europa League when the lost 3-2 at home against Celtic earlier this month.
The Green Eagles are also the only side in this year's competition who are yet to claim a single point after four matches – the only Hungarian team to lose their first five group games in a single campaign were Debrecen back in 2010-11.
Peter Stoger's side have failed to impress in the Europa League, but they have performed well domestically, winning nine of their opening 12 games in the Nemzeti Bajnoksag, which has moved them to the top of the table.
As Ferencvaros have nothing but pride to play for in their final two Group G matches, Stoger may look to rotate his side with one eye on claiming their fourth successive top-flight title.
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Real Betis will be without key playmaker Fekir following his red card against Leverkusen last time out, while Guido Rodriguez, German Pezzella, Youssouf Sabaly and Victor Camarasa are all doubtful with injuries.
With Bellerin suspended in La Liga, the Arsenal loanee is set to start at right-back ahead of Martin Montoya, joining Marc Bartra, Edgar Gonzalez and Juan Miranda in the back four.
Forty-year-old Joaquin and Juanmi could be handed starts on the flanks, though Aitor Ruibal, Rober and Cristian Tello will also be pushing for a place in the first XI.
As for Ferencvaros, midfielder David Siger is their only injury concern, as he continues to recover from a long-term ligament problem.
Albanian winger Myrto Uzuni, who has scored 20 goals in 26 games across all competitions this term, is set to be joined in attack by Tokmac Nguen and Ryan Mmaee.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Bellerin, Bartra, Gonzalez, Miranda; Guardado, Carvalho; Joaquin, Canales, Juanmi; Iglesias
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Wingo, S. Mmaee, Blazic, Civic; Laidouni, Vecsei, Zachariassen; Uzuni, R. Mmaee, Nguen
We say: Real Betis 2-0 Ferencvaros
With more riding on this fixture for Real Betis than already-eliminated Ferencvaros, the hosts will be the favourites to come away with all three points on Thursday.
Pellegrini is expected to name a strong side, which should have too much quality for their Hungarian counterparts.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Betis win with a probability of 55.77%. A draw had a probability of 23.5% and a win for Ferencvaros had a probability of 20.71%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.11%) and 2-1 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.18%), while for a Ferencvaros win it was 0-1 (6.4%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 10.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Real Betis in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Real Betis.
