Real Zaragoza kept their survival hopes alive with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol and will be aiming to further close the gap behind safety when they host Real Betis, the team that finally ended the poor run of results.

Having signed played like Helder Postiga, Luis Garcia, Pablo Barrera and Juan Carlos in the summer, Zaragoza were not even expected to enter the relegation race, but the team experienced major problems in their league campaign.

Los Manos didn’t have such a poor start to the season, but they entered a very rough patch of form in October which lasted for almost four months.

The 14-match winless run saw the team drop to the bottom of the standings, making their survival chances slim to none.

Manolo Jimenez’s side improved to beat Espanyol away last weekend, but seeing they are still no less than 10 points adrift of safety, the hosts have no choice but to try and win this match as well.

Seeing los Manos are high on confidence after the victory at Cornella El Prat, maybe odds of 2.70 (17/10) offered by William Hill on home win are worth a shot.

Strikers Helder Postiga and Carlos Aranda have resumed training after recovering from injury, whereas Javier Paredes also returns. Maurizio Lanzaro misses out through suspension.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Roberto – Alvarez, Mateos, Da Silva, Paredes – Pinter, Apono – Luis Garcia, Lafita, Oriol – Postiga.

Real Betis are without a doubt the most exciting side in the elite division given you never know what to expect from los Verdiblancos.

The newly promoted side started the La Liga campaign with four straight victories, but they then entered the dismal run that saw them pick up just one point from next ten games.

Then came another three-match winning run that was followed by the four-game winless run and finally Real Betis managed to beat very good Athletic Bilbao by scoring the winner deep into injury time.

Looking at their results this season, we can safely say that Pepe Mel’s side acts as a genuine Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde team.

Online punters probably hate los Verdiblancos seeing that you never know which side will turn up, but even so, odds of 2.80 (9/5) offered by Sportingbet on away win look too good to pass.

Jefferson Montero and Roque Santa Cruz are both injury doubts, but Ustaritz should be in contention despite fracturing his wrist. Midfielder Iriney is suspended after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Fabricio – Nelson, Paulao, Dorado, Nacho – Benat, Matilla, Salva – Castro, Molina, Montero.