Real Betis vs Real Sociedad

April 25, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

The 3-1 defeat to Rayo Vallecano marked the end of Real Betis’ survival hopes, meaning the game against Real Sociedad is likely to prove very difficult for los Verdiblancos. La Real remained in sixth position as they recorded a hard-fought triumph over Espanyol, but a win at Estadio Benito Villamarin is a must if Jagoba Arrasate’s charges are to remain in a good position to qualify for Europa League.

End of the road

Despite finishing the previous league campaign in 7th place, some 20 points above the bottom three, Real Betis have utterly failed to prove their worth this season and it is now clear they will be relegated to Segunda. The club management clearly failed to properly replace some key players who left the side in the summer, while the Europa League campaign also took the wind out of team’s sails. As a result, los Verdiblancos found themselves in the relegation zone midway through the league campaign and they were unable to leave it ever since. The lack of confidence has proven to be a major issue of late, with players themselves seem to have lost all hope of survival. And with Real Betis sitting ten points adrift of safety with just four games to go, it is perfectly clear they have nothing left to hope for. The 3-1 loss to Rayo Vallecano was their fourth successive defeat in the league and despite playing their next fixture at home, it is highly unlikely Real Betis will manage to end the dismal run against very good Real Sociedad side, who, by the way, have plenty of motives to win at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Nono, Nosa Igiebor and Lolo Reyes have failed to recover in time, while Xavi Torres, Chuli, Nacho, Didac Vila, Salva Sevilla, Javier Matilla, Atonio Amaya and Guillermo Sara are also out injured.

Great chance for La Real

Just like their next opponents, Real Sociedad initially struggled to find the right balance between their domestic and European campaigns, but their performances improved considerably after they crashed out of the Champions League. La Real kept climbing the league standings and they even came into a position to fight for a top 4 finish, although Europa League berth looks like a realistic target at the moment. Jagoba Arrasate’s charges have suffered a dip in form of late, but the last-gasp win over Espanyol could provide just the boost they need to finish the season in style. La Real showed a lot of character to come from a goal behind and win the game by scoring in injury time, and surely they will feel confident of pouring more misery on Real Betis. Real Sociedad were unlucky in some away games this season, but this is the match they simply have to win. The good news is that key players Antoine Griezmann and Xabi Prieto are back in contention, and they should have an important role to play in Seville.

Xabi Prieto and Antoine Griezmann return from injury and suspension respectively, but Ruben Pardo is banned for the clash at Benito Villamarin.

Verdict

With four straight losses ending team’s survival hopes, there are no doubts Real Betis will be low on confidence when they host Real Sociedad, with the lengthy injury list not making their life easier. La Real are back on track for a top 6 finish and they can be trusted to win at Benito Villamarin.

Verdict: Away win   2.25 (5/4) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Over 2.5 goals   1.73 (8/11) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Away win + both teams to score   4.00 (3/1) @ bet365

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