Real Betis travel to dsyfunctional Espanyol in major midtable clash

Quique Setien’s Betis are starting to find form while Espanyol are heading in the opposite direction with four consecutive losses in the league.

Real Betis started the season slowly, a particular disappointment given the entertainment they brought to the division in 2017-18.

They have turned that around, though, with only one loss in their last nine games in all competitions, as well as five wins in their last six matches, including a pulsating 4-3 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou. They now find themselves just outside the European places in seventh. They’ve also managed to qualify through a potentially tricky Europa League group which contained AC Milan and Olympiacos.

In contrast, Espanyol were one of the early surprises of the season under new manager Rubi, but the promising start has fizzled out with four consecutive league losses, including a 4-0 demolishing by their city rivals Barcelona. They have already fallen to 10th place. If they don’t turn around their form, they could very easily find themselves around the relegation places.

Quique Setien appears to have settled on 3-5-2 as his formation of choice after switching between that and 3-4-3 earlier in the season, although he uses a number of variants. This allows Los Verdiblancos to control proceedings in the middle while also having a solid defensive platform and two mobile threats for the midfield to link up with. However, they are reliant on the wing-backs to provide width in the different phases of play.

Rubi has been more versatile in recent games as he seeks to find a solution to Espanyol’s current woes. 4-3-3, 4-1-4-1, 4-4-1-1 have all been used but that hasn’t stopped their winless run. They’re likely to use a 4-3-3 system in order to match Betis in midfield while also attempting to take advantage of the space in wide areas.

Espanyol were perfect at home until recently, when fellow Catalonian teams Girona and Barcelona both come away with victories. In a weird coincidence, Barcelona and Girona are the only teams that Betis have beaten away from home, and they have a total of just eight points from seven games on the road. Therefore, Espanyol have a good chance of obtaining a result and halting their winless run in this match. The Catalonian side also have the advantage in terms of recent results with three wins compared to Betis’ two in the last five games.

Andres Guardado will be unavailable once again for Betis as he recovers from a muscular injury, but the Mexican international’s absence has allowed Setien to play an ambitious midfield trio of Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Canales and William Carvalho. This has made them particularly effective at breaking down opposition deep blocks. Mario Hermoso is likely to miss the match for Espanyol and he has been one of their most reliable players this season as well as their best defender, so that’s a big blow.

Lo Celso is the key player for the Andalusian outfit due to his all-round ability that enables him to recycle possession, break the opposition lines through his passing and dribbling, finish chances and contribute defensively to break up play. The attacking drive he provides from central midfield will be key in forcing openings for his side. Espanyol will be reliant on Borja Iglesias to convert any chances that come his way.