La Liga: Brothers and Rivals Prepare To Do Battle

Real Betis vs Sevilla

For those who like their history, the Seville derby (Derbi Sevillano) is also known as The Great Derby (El Gran Derbi) and is contested by La Liga clubs Sevilla and Real Betis.

Brothers and rivals. A healthy rivalry, often taken to humorous extremes by fans with inexhaustible arguments and comebacks, as often happens in those families where fans of the two different teams are forced to live together.

Nervión is the neighborhood home to Sevilla FC and the Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. Meanwhile, the Heliópolis is where Betis play – the Benito Billamarín stadium.

In the words of one guide: game days are a party in these two neighborhoods, an experience you shouldn’t miss. Choose your colors, the Betis’ green and white or Seville’s red and white, and enjoy a magnificent day of football.

That’s what fans of these two teams are hoping for this Sunday night.

But which club are you backing to create the latest set of La Liga highlights?

Talking Points

Well, one team could certainly do with the points.

I have never known Sevilla to be as lowly as they currently are in the top flight.

A 1-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano left them in the relegation zone once again last weekend so they head into this one in 18^th place.

One player who will definitely miss this contest is star summer signing Isco after the former Real Madrid creator received his fifth booking of the season in that game.

Manager Jorge Sampaoli will no doubt be waiting on the fitness of Fernando Reges and Youssef En-Nesyri, who missed that encounter and their midweek Champions League clash with Manchester City which they lost 3-1.

Since Basque boss Julen Lopetegui was sacked early last month after just one win in their opening ten games, matters have barely improved with his replacement, Sampaoli, only managing two wins in seven as his side have dropped into the La Liga relegation zone.

Yet, they retain players of quality and, even at 34, Ivan Rakitic retains the smoothness on the ball that helped Croatia reach the World Cup final four years ago.

Should Sevilla fall to another defeat, the sense of pessimism will envelop Los Nervionenses once more.

That is in stark contract to their opponents who sit in fourth place in the table going into the weekend – that is despite missing some of their key players, notably Nabil Fekir and Juanmi, through injury for much of the opening months of the campaign.

Their absence has given opportunities for others though, most notably young Brazilian winger Luiz Henrique who has started in eight La Liga matches so far and shown good form, including netting some crucial goals against Roma and Ludogorets in the Europa League – a group they topped with the most points of any team.

Managed by the astute Manuel Pellegrini, they had already qualified for the knockout stages before Thursday night’s victory over HJK Helsinki and continued their good form domestically last weekend when two late goals saw off and helped them leapfrog Real Sociedad – the complete opposite of the result I predicted.

So one team in form against another very out of form but, there again, doesn’t form count for very little in a derby?!

History

En route to their memorable Copa del Rey triumph last season, Betis knocked out their city rivals as goals from Fekir and Sergio Canales secured them a 2-1 win after Alejandro Gomez had put Sevilla in front.

Canales was also on target in the league match in Seville the last term but that was a consolation goal as a Rakitic penalty and Munir El Haddadi found the net for the hosts.

In the corresponding league fixture last season, Sevilla were also victors against 10-man Betis with second-half goals from Marcos Acuna and Hector Bellerin.

Betis have not beaten Sevilla in La Liga since 2018 when club hero Joaquin netted the only goal of the game.

Overall, they have met 137 times in all competitions, including the Segunda Division and a Europa League thriller in 2014.

Sevilla have 65 victories to their name with 40 Betis wins and 32 draws.

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP La Liga betting odds favor the home side with Betis available 1X2 @ 2.13 and Asian Handicap -0.50 @ 2.20.

Sevilla can be backed 1X2 @ 3.30 and Asian Handicap 0.00 @ 2.51.

The draw is on offer @ 3.20 and over 2.50 goals @ 2.17.

I do not think there will be many goals but I do think there will be some.

I do not believe they will stay in the bottom three for long but I do think Sevilla will finish empty-handed this weekend which is why I am opting for a repeat of their Copa del Rey tie last season and why my ** prediction is Correct Score 2-1 @ 7.80.

 

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