Real Betis vs Sevilla
It’s also known as ‘The Great Derby’, and when the two football giants of Andalusia meet at the Benito Villamarin on Saturday we expect to be entertained.
La Liga: Real Betis vs Sevilla is one of Spain’s classic fixtures and rarely fails to entertain, so it’s one we love to feature here at SBOTOP. Before the last clash at this venue, last November, more than 10,000 Betis fans watched their team’s last training session.
The first derby of 2021 has plenty of interest too; high profile head coaches are juggling their squads in a packed schedule and both teams are in decent form, playing in high tempo games on Tuesday night, Betis losing a seven goal thriller while Sevilla earned a big win.
With Sevilla in fourth place and Real Betis tenth in the league table, separated by seven points, there is not a huge gulf between the teams. Betis are just three points from a Europa League spot and that is a huge incentive for the underdogs, while Sevilla could cement their position in the top four as third-placed Real Sociedad falter.
Read on for the Real Betis vs Sevilla news and preview.
Talking Points
Pellegrini is raising expectations
Following a struggle in the 2019/20 season, Betis appointed Manuel Pellegrini to be head coach and the former Real Madrid and Manchester City boss has his team competing for Europe, although they had a setback this week.
Los Verdiblancos suffered defeat away to Levante on Tuesday night and it looked like they’d be on the end of a real thumping, 4-1 down with three quarters of the game gone. But after the hosts had Roberto Pier sent off, Betis fought back, midfielder Sergio Canales scoring twice before Levante held out in a grandstand finish. Defender Aissa Mandi almost grabbed a point in injury time as his header from Canales’ corner flew towards the bottom corner but the Levante keeper made a breath-taking save.
Canales is Los Verdiblancos key player with five assists this season and, in the absence of the injured William Carvalho, Cristian Tello is making his mark too with four goals, while France and Lyon fans know just how exciting a player Nabil Fekir can be on his day.
Sevilla
Julen Lopetegui’s side have recovered from a slow start to the season, partly explained by a gruelling but successful Europa League triumph which almost ran into the opening rounds of the domestic league season.
Sevilla moved back into the top four by beating Villarreal on Tuesday night. Goals from Lucas Ocampos and top scorer Youssef En-Nesyri won the game 2-0 and ended a record 19 game unbeaten run for the Yellow Submarine. Los Palanganas out fired their visitors with ten shots to six and three to two on target, a sound performance against a team on a red hot streak.
Ocampos has been in fine form again this season, also contributing three assists, while in goal, Bono continues to deputise from long term injury Tomas Vaclik.
History
With one Primera Division title each the Seville neighbours can both proudly say they were once top of the tree, but Sevilla have climbed nearer in recent seasons, finishing fourth last year, while Betis flirted with relegation, ending up in 15th place.
Sevilla have won 22 of the 48 meetings between these two teams since 1995, with Betis triumphing on ten occasions and there have been 16 draws.
Seville did the double in the 2019/20 league season, winning the last meeting 2-0 in June, the first game to be played in La Liga since the pandemic lockdown stopped football in La Liga on 10th March. Ocampos put in a man of the match performance, scoring the first goal from the penalty spot, crashing a shot against the crossbar and then teeing up the second goal for Fernando with a brilliant backheel.
When Betis were at home they fared slightly better but still lost 1-2, and they have now been unsuccessful in three consecutive derbies.
The visitors edge the recent form, unbeaten in six, winning five, while Betis has won three, drawn one and lost two over that period
Betting Tip
 |
 |
Real Betis vs Sevilla | Over 2.25 @ 1.97 |
| January 02, 23:15 (GMT+8) |
The Real Betis vs Sevilla betting odds back an away win, but not odds on with Sevilla offered at a price of 2.08. Real Betis at 3.50 and the draw at 3.30 are both in play but I’m backing a game with at least three goals.
Sevilla have scored eight and conceded one in the last five matches while Betis have both scored and conceded seven. 23 goals from ten matches – well that’s 2.30 goals a game. It’s tight but it’s on the right side for our bet!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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