Preview: Real Betis vs. Real Sociedad
Two teams battling for top-four finishes in Spain’s top flight will lock horns on Tuesday evening, with Real Betis welcoming Real Sociedad to Estadio Benito Villamarin.
The home side are currently fifth in the table, six points behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad, who are in pole position to secure a spot in the Champions League for next season.
Real Betis will enter this match off the back of a damaging 3-2 loss at Osasuna on Saturday, which proved to be their third defeat in their last four matches in Spain’s top flight.
The disappointing run of form has come at the worst possible stage of the campaign, with Manuel Pellegrini’s side dropping six points behind fourth-placed Real Sociedad ahead of Tuesday’s contest.
A win in this match would put the Seville giants firmly in the race for a top-four spot, but a defeat would allow Real Sociedad to move nine points clear of them, which is a huge gap to make up at this stage of the season.
It has been a disappointing few weeks for the Green and Whites, having also been thumped 5-1 by Manchester United in the last-16 stage of the Europa League, while they have only been victorious in two of their last nine games in all competitions.
Pellegrini’s side have been relatively strong in front of their own fans this season, picking up 27 points from 15 matches, but they will be taking on a Real Sociedad outfit with the fourth-best away record, having collected 26 points from 15 matches on their travels.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, with Imanol Alguacil’s side coming from behind to secure a vital three points in their top-four push.
The Basque outfit fell behind in the 57th minute of the contest, but Alexander Sorloth levelled the scores two minutes later before an own goal from Florian Lejeune in the 81st minute secured all three points.
Alguacil’s team boast 54 points from their 30 league games this season, which has left them in fourth, and as mentioned, six points ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, but sixth-placed Villarreal will have the chance to close the gap to four points when they face Sevilla on Sunday night.
The picture might have changed slightly by the time that this game kicks off, but Real Sociedad will just be concentrating on their own form, and they will be aiming to make it successive wins in Spain’s top flight for the first time since the middle of January.
La Real, who last finished fourth in 2012-13, have not actually beaten Real Betis in La Liga since October 2020, and the Green and Whites ran out 2-0 winners in the reverse match earlier this season.
Real Betis La Liga form:
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Real Betis form (all competitions):
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Real Sociedad La Liga form:
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Real Sociedad form (all competitions):
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We say: Real Betis 1-1 Real Sociedad
This has all of the makings of a brilliant match, and it will be fascinating to see what occurs in Seville on Tuesday night. A draw would be a better result for Real Sociedad considering the position of the two sides in the table, and we can see the visitors securing a point for their troubles here.