Real Betis will be bidding to bounce back from successive defeats when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to a struggling Granada outfit on Saturday night.
The Seville outfit will enter the contest off the back of a 1-0 loss to Alaves in the Copa del Rey, while Granada recorded a much-needed 2-0 victory over Cadiz in their last fixture, which came in La Liga.
Match preview
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Real Betis are currently on a run of six games without a victory in all competitions, with their last success proving to be a 2-1 win over Villanovense in the Copa del Rey at the start of December.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have not won in La Liga since the end of November, meanwhile, failing to pick up maximum points in any of their last five league fixtures, although four of those have been draws.
The Green and Whites suffered a 2-1 loss to Celta Vigo in their last league match on January 3, before being beaten 1-0 by Alaves in the last-32 stage of the Copa del Rey last time out.
It is now three losses from their last five matches in all competitions, which is a poor run of form for a team of their standing, but they now have back-to-back home fixtures against Granada and Barcelona.
Real Betis are currently seventh in the La Liga table, four points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad, and they have been the draw specialists in Spain's top flight this season, sharing the points in 10 of their 19 matches.
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Granada, meanwhile, managed to secure just their second league victory of the campaign in their last match, beating Cadiz 2-0 courtesy of goals from Myrto Uzuni and Bryan Zaragoza.
Alexander Medina's side remain in the relegation zone, though, having picked up just 11 points from their opening 19 matches of the campaign, and the team have conceded 40 times in the league this season, which is the second-worst defensive record behind Almeria (43).
Granada secured a return to La Liga for the 2023-24 campaign as Segunda Division champions, and any spot over 18th would be considered a successful season, with the team looking to consolidate again in the top flight.
The strugglers have the second-worst away record in La Liga this term, picking up just one point from their nine games on their travels, while Real Betis are unbeaten in front of their own supporters.
Granada are also winless in their last four La Liga games with Real Betis, but the points were shared in a 1-1 draw when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Team News
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Real Betis will be missing Sergi Altimira and Hector Bellerin for this match through injury, while Juan Miranda, Guido Rodriguez, Nabil Fekir, Claudio Bravo and Marc Bartra are all fitness doubts.
Pellegrini's side will also be unable to call upon Chadi Riad, Youssouf Sabaly or Abde Ezzalzouli, with all three players set to be in action at the Africa Cup of Nations.
There will be a number of changes to the side that started against Alaves in the Copa del Rey last time out, with William Carvalho, Abner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Borja Iglesias among those set to return to the side.
As for Granada, Raul Fernandez remains a major doubt due to a muscular problem, while Ricard Sanchez is suspended due to the milestone booking that he picked up against Cadiz.
Jesus Vallejo could be pressed into action at right-back, but it is likely to be otherwise the same side that took to the field for the first whistle of the team's last match.
Lucas Boye is set to feature alongside Uzuni in the final third of the field, with Zaragoza, who is joining Bayern Munich at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, playing off the right.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Ruibal, Pezzella, Papastathopoulos, Abner; Carvalho, Roca; Diao, Isco, Perez; Iglesias
Granada possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Vallejo, Mendez, Miquel, Neva; Zaragoza, Ruiz, Villar, Carreras; Uzuni, Boye
We say: Real Betis 2-1 Granada
Granada will certainly be the fresher of the two sides, and the visitors will enter this match off the back of a morale-boosting victory. Real Betis are in desperate need of a league success, though, and we are expecting Pellegrini's team to navigate their way to an important three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
