Real Betis and Athletic Club will face off in Matchday 22, meeting at the Estadio Benito Villamarín at 21:00 CET this February 2nd. Both teams are seeking the three points in order to continue pursuing their respective objectives, with Los Verdiblancos needing the win to pull themselves towards the European positions and with Los Leones keen to stretch their advantage in the race to qualify for the Champions League and to remain in the LALIGA EA SPORTS title race. Click this link https://a.meridianbet.ke/c/C7pYjz to start gaming and stand a chance of winning big with Meridianbet.
In the case of Real Betis, they just achieved a hugely important victory when they won 1-0 away at RCD Mallorca last weekend. As such, they’re now just six points behind fifth-placed Villarreal CF, who sit in the final Europa League spot. Athletic Club, meanwhile, couldn’t score in a goalless draw with CD Leganés last weekend. As such, these two clubs enter this matchday in interesting positions in the table, with the Basques on 40 points and the Andalusians on 28 points.
Athletic Club haven’t won at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in seven years
You’d have to go back to December 22nd 2017 for the last time Athletic Club won away at Real Betis in league play, in that case by a 2-0 margin. Since then, though, they’ve failed to win on any of their six league visits to Los Verdiblancos’ home, as there have been three wins for the team from Seville and three draws. Last season, Manuel Pellegrini’s side won this fixture 3-1.
It should be noted that there was a Copa del Rey quarter-final in 2021, when Los Rojiblancos did triumph at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in a penalty shootout. Now, Ernesto Valverde’s side will look to make this another happy trip south, as they look for a rare LALIGA EA SPORTS win away at Real Betis and a return to their excellent form of a few weeks ago.
Two attacking teams, with Real Betis boasting more possession and Athletic Club a higher press
These are two teams who are always looking for the opposition’s goal, even if there are slight nuances in how they attack. In the case of Real Betis, they tend to play with a 4-2-3-1, with the three players behind the front man boasting a lot of talent, as Isco, Giovani Lo Celso, and Ez Abde support Vitor Roque. Players from the academy are also being given a chance, such as Jesús Rodríguez or the likes of Pablo García or Ángel Ortiz, who have debuted in recent weeks.
The Andalusian outfit wants to have some consistency over the coming months, given how many injuries they’ve suffered in recent times. Now that most of those injured players are back, now that several young talents have emerged and now that Antony has arrived, the fans are hoping for positive results.
As for Athletic Club, they play with the same formation as Real Betis but they don’t seek to dominate possession as much. Instead, they prefer to play direct and quick football, making the most of counter-attacking opportunities through the Williams brothers, Álex Berenguer and Gorka Guruzeta.
They also want to remain solid in defence, and that’s made easier by the fact that they have several top-class defenders in the likes of Dani Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, and Óscar De Marcos, along with a great goalkeeper in Unai Simón, who just made two extraordinary saves in the goalless draw with CD Leganés. It truly is a clash of titans at the Estadio Benito Villamarín, with two teams in need of the three points as they each try to meet their objectives or to aim even higher.
