Real Betis vs Valencia
Spain – Copa Del Rey
Date: Thursday, 7th February 2019
Kick-off at 20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Venue: Estadio Benito Villamarín (Sevilla).
While this week’s Clasico is dominating the headlines, there’s a place in the Copa del Rey final up for grabs as Real Betis face off with Valencia. The pair are in the mix for a Europa League finish in the league, but could they be facing off for silverware this term? The two sides meet in an evenly matched first leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday night, but which of these two will be able to edge in front and take an aggregate lead into the rematch at the end of this month?
Real Betis are in the top six, only four points shy of the Champions League spots. They’re on course for European football next term, but adding a cup final on top of that would cap off a fine campaign. The issue for the hosts is that the decisive second leg is away from home, so they need to get out in front with a result against Valencia this week. The hosts have built up some momentum with a three-game winning run at their own ground, including their weekend success against Atletico Madrid. Will that run continue into this clash?
Valencia are also coming off the back of a big result, as they claimed a 2-2 draw with Barcelona in their last game. They raced into an early lead against the Catalans, who looked all over the place early on. However, Barca rallied to get back into the game. That draw left Valencia in eighth place, two points shy of Betis. That suggests a tight contest across the 180+ minutes in this semi-final.
While the visitors scored twice last weekend, they aren’t typically attacking going forward on their travels. They come here having scored just 0.9 goals per game on the road so far. That should offer Betis the chance to build on their 1-0 win over Atletico. Edging out a top side in that manner should boost the hosts’ confidence, while they already have a strong home record this season. We can see them grabbing a similar result when these two meet, especially with semi-final pressure dominating the build-up to this encounter.
The away side are used to close games, with just 32% of their matches this season seeing over 2.5 goals scored. They’ve seen less than three goals in 64% of their away trips, thanks to their lack of goals on the road. They meet a Betis side who have seen four straight games with fewer than three goals in each. Under 2.5 has landed in five of Valencia’s last seven away trips in this competition, along with three of their last four meetings with Betis. With that in mind, under 2.5 goals looks like a good bet on what is set to be a tense encounter.
Real Betis vs Valencia Head-to-head (h2h)
The Glorious last won a match against the opposition in 2016.
Valencia leads 4-3 in the last 10 meetings in all competitions.
Last 5 matches, 1-0 score line occurred twice.
At Estadio Benito Villamarín, Betis leads 3-1 in last 5.
Real Betis vs Valencia Prediction
The Oranges will be playing to avoid any defensive errors and keep the home team at bay. The away team will be playing with a defensive shape and will be solid at the back.
Heliopolitans will be more attack-minded and wants to take more than 2 goal margins before the second Leg. Real Betis will somehow breach the opposition’s defense and put the ball at the back of the net.
Errors will be made, and goal post will be breached due to sheer pressure of the occasion. Both teams will get chances and try to finish it off. Both these teams will put their names on the score sheets and take this advantage for the next leg.
Real Betis vs Valencia Betting Tips
Real Betis to Win @ 2.40 (7/5)
Both Teams to Score @ 1.72 (8/11).