Real Betis host Athletic Bilbao at the Estadio Benito Villamarín on Wednesday evening knowing that three points against the Basque side could see them entrench their fifth-place La Liga credentials.
This encounter will be the first league game Athletic have played since their 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey, the team's second final defeat in the space of just two weeks.
Match preview
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Following months of inconsistency and unpredictability for Betis this season, things have really started to click in recent weeks and Manuel Pellegrini appears to have got his groove back.
Betis have lost just once in their last nine league outings and there's no doubt that Pellegrini will be eyeing up another three points from this most unfortunate Athletic side.
In their 2-2 draw against Valencia last time out, Betis were unlucky not to come away from the tie with all three points, with Nabil Fekir and Sergio Canales both finding the back of the net.
Betis are looking up the table and will be desperate to finish the campaign with as many points on the board as possible.
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Athletic boss Marcelino will aim to put his side's Copa del Rey woes behind him as the team approach this tie.
Despite humiliating back-to-back cup final defeats, Athletic still have a lot to celebrate this year and there will be many in Bilbao who will be keen to watch their team get a win under their belt.
Currently 11th in the table, Athletic have lost just one league game in their last ten, winning two and drawing seven. In fact, Marcelino's men have scored just three goals in their last five league fixtures.
After a tough run of fixtures, Marcelino's key performers will no doubt be tired, but the fitness of the likes of Iker Muniain, Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer will be integral to the side's success this week.
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Team News
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Pellegrini is likely to make a number of changes ahead of this tie in a bid to keep the team fresh and firing on all cylinders.
It is unlikely that, at 39 years of age, Betis veteran Joaquin will start this game, as he did against Valencia, and Borja Iglesias could deputise for him.
Marc Bartra could also be reinstated at the heart of the defence.
Marcelino is also expected to bring in some fresh faces ahead of this tie and the likes of Asier Villalibre, Mikel Vesga and Yuri Berchiche could all feature.
Absentees include Peru Nolaskoain and Oier Zarraga, who are both injured.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Emerson, Mandi, Bartra, Moreno; Rodriguez, Canales, Iglesias, Fekir, Tello; Juanmi
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Martinez, Lekue; Ibai, Vesga, Lopez, Morcillo; Sancet, Villalibre
We say: Real Betis 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
Betis have really upped the ante in recent weeks, and we think Pellegrini's men have the upper hand on Athletic at this point in time. We are going for a 2-0 win with goals from Canales and Fekir.
Top tip
Francis Buchanan
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 44.86%. A win for Athletic Bilbao had a probability of 29.02% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.03%) and 2-0 (8.09%). The likeliest Athletic Bilbao win was 0-1 (8.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.41%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood.
