by The ticket to the next round of the Europa League involves adding at home against a Sparta Prague that plays with the weather in its favor. The Prague team, accustomed to freezing temperatures, will host a Betis team that will seek, for the first time, to achieve a fourth consecutive victory in the competition.
When the Czechs have faced Spanish teams, they have only managed to win 1 of 6 home games. The green and white coach wants to avoid the chance that would come with playing the play-offs against teams that come from the Champions League, although with nuances that he assessed in the press conference prior to the match: “In previous years we came second and eliminated Zenit, another year we went direct and United eliminated us. Of course it is better to go direct, because you skip two matches during the week, but the most important thing is to classify“.
Press conference by Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini prior to the Europa League match in Seville /EFE
News in the call
That is why this Thursday’s victory would be a coup for a team that has a full infirmary. The last to fall, Rodri Sánchez. The youth player joins the absences of Marc Bartra, Claudio Bravo, Youssouf Sabaly and William Carvalho. That of the Portuguese leaves Pellegrini in suspense, who did not want to use his absence as an excuse: “We have never used the excuse that we are missing a player. The great merit of this group has been that, regardless of the names, the team shows its face and goes out for the game“. To which he added that he hopes that both he and Rodri will return before Christmas. Consequently, he has completed the list with the addition of three youth players: Sorroche, Enrique and Germán, along with two more regulars such as Vieites and Assane.
The confirmed return of Fekir as a starter nine months later is the pleasant surprise, along with the entry of Rui Silva and Bellerín in the squad. The Franco-Algerian has confirmed that he feels fine, but that he needs minutes to demonstrate his level. Furthermore, he has made it clear that he “wants to play with Isco.”
As if that were not enough, Pellegrini has equaled his best records, with 13 unbeaten games. He has won all four of his matches against Czech teams, but he has limited himself to saying that they are statistics and that each match is different. He, too, did not want to apologize for the cold and confirmed that “we will see a Betis that goes for the three points from the start.” With the victory against Las Palmas and winning the last match in Europe against Aris Limassol, they will seek to reaffirm these good feelings. For its part, Sparta has just had three league victories.
