Real Betis will be bidding to make it successive victories in Spain's top flight when they welcome an in-form Real Valladolid to Seville on Saturday afternoon.
Manuel Pellegrini's side will enter the contest off the back of a 3-2 win over Almeria, while Real Valladolid drew 0-0 with Osasuna last time out to make it three La Liga games unbeaten.
Match preview
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Real Betis suffered five defeats from their six matches in all competitions between January 12 and February 4, which saw them exit the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey, in addition to suffering La Liga losses to Espanyol, Barcelona and Celta Vigo.
However, Pellegrini's team managed to return to winning ways last time out, recording a 3-2 victory over Almeria, with Andres Guardado netting the decisive goal in the 70th minute of the contest.
Real Betis are currently fifth in Spain's top flight, four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, but they are only three points clear of eighth-placed Villarreal, so the Seville outfit are in a delicate position in the table.
The Green and Whites have picked up 17 points from their 10 home league games this season, and a top-four finish would be considered a huge success considering that they have not ended up in the Champions League positions since the 2004-05 campaign.
El Glorioso have drawn their last two league matches against Real Valladolid, including a 0-0 in the reverse fixture between the two teams back in October.
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Real Valladolid, meanwhile, have collected seven points from their last three league matches against Valencia, Real Sociedad and Osasuna, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Pacheta's team have moved away from the relegation zone into 13th position, but they are only four points clear of the bottom three, so there is still plenty of work for them to do in order to continue at this level.
The White and Violets secured a return to La Liga courtesy of their runners-up spot in last season's Segunda Division, and they will now be looking to consolidate back in the top flight.
Real Valladolid have one of the poorer away records in La Liga this season, only picking up seven points from their 10 matches on their travels, while they have not beaten Real Betis in Seville since February 2019.
The visitors are the form team entering this contest, though, and they will be eyeing two more positive results against Real Betis and Celta Vigo before the end of the month.
Team News
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Real Betis will again be without the services of Juan Cruz and Paul Akouokou through injury, but the squad will receive a triple boost with the return of three players.
Luiz Felipe, Nabil Fekir and William Carvalho are all available following suspensions, and the trio should be back in the starting XI for this weekend's contest.
Borja Iglesias is set to lead the line, with Rodri likely to be the player to drop out of the attacking unit to allow Fekir to return to the team.
As for Real Valladolid, Kenedy and Anuar Tuhami remain on the sidelines through injury, but the visitors do not have any fresh issues heading into this contest.
Cyle Larin is pushing for a starting role and might be preferred at centre-forward to Sergio Leon, while Roque Mesa could be introduced in central midfield in place of Monchu.
Oscar Plano should continue in the number 10 position, with Darwin Machis and Gonzalo Plata also set to feature in the forward positions for the away side.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Sabaly, Felipe, Gonzalez, Abner; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Juanmi, Fekir, Canales; Iglesias
Real Valladolid possible starting lineup:
Masip; Perez, Hongla, Sanchez, Olaza; Monchu, Perez; Plata, Plano, Machis; Larin
We say: Real Betis 1-0 Real Valladolid
Real Valladolid will be full of confidence due to their recent results, but Real Betis should have enough quality to win this match. Pellegrini's side are not currently in the best of form, but we are expecting the Seville outfit to secure all three points this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
