Round one of the eagerly-awaited Copa del Rey will get underway this week, and on Wednesday evening, we will see Hernan Cortes take on Real Betis at Estadio Francisco de la Hera.
In the week, the home side announced that all tickets had been completely sold out, with a capacity of 11,580 spectators expected to attend this historic encounter.
Match preview
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Hernan Cortes achieved a historic feat earlier this month by advancing to the first round of the Copa del Rey after defeating CD Sauzal in the qualifying phase.
They claimed victory against the Canarian team by a scoreline of 3-1 in a match that initially saw them trailing, but they successfully staged a comeback to secure their spot in the main draw for the first time.
Juan Moruno pulled his side level from the spot in the 22nd minute and doubled his tally seven minutes later before Enrique Nieto sealed the victory just before the hour mark.
The hosts are currently in sixth place in the Tercera Division – Group 15, and while they are not expected to win this match by most, they will certainly relish the opportunity to have a free hit at a top-flight club on their home patch.
While Real Betis would love to win this competition for the fourth time in their history, it will be interesting to see what level of priority Manuel Pellegrini gives it, with a busy schedule on the horizon.
Not only will the visitors be looking to match and possibly surpass their sixth-place finish in La Liga last season, but they are also leading their Europa League Group at the halfway point.
As a result, this could be the competition that Pellegrini opts to push lower down the pecking order, although against a lower-league opponent, the Chilean manager will still be expecting a professional performance from the side he does field.
The Greens come into this match fresh off a 2-1 win over Osasuna, which extended their recent run of results to eight games unbeaten, including four wins and four draws, and they will be expecting to add to that record with another victory in this one.
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Team News
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After a good performance in the preliminary round, Felipe Gallego Arias will likely field an unchanged side, though Enrique will hope that his goal over the weekend is enough to earn him a starting 11 role this time.
Pellegrini will likely make several changes to the side that played Osasuna last weekend, which could see Abde Ezzalzouli given a run from the start, possibly in place of Ayoze Perez.
William Carvalho should get the nod in midfield, and he will provide the cover for the backline that could include Abner Vinicius, who looked solid coming off the bench in the last match.
Borja Iglesias (hip), Sergi Altimira (knock), Marc Bartra (Achilles), Youssouf Sabaly (thigh) and Nabil Fekir are all missing from the squad through injury.
Hernan Cortes possible starting lineup:
Lunego; Alima, De Dios, Barrantes, Moruno, Doblas; Escudero, Sanchez, Lynconl; Osono, Marquez
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bellerin, Abner, Papastathopoulos, Riad; Carvalho, Sanchez, Henrique, Cruz, Ruibal; Jose
We say: Hernan Cortes 0-3 Real Betis
While many will be backing a huge win for the visitors here, Pellegrini is expected to make wholesale changes with a few important fixtures incoming over the next few weeks. The hosts are expected to give it a good go here, but we fancy the visitors to secure a routine victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
