Real Betis and Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih will conclude their battle for a Europa Conference League league-phase spot on Thursday, when they meet at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in the second leg of their playoff-round tie.
The hosts head into the contest with a 2-0 advantage after prevailing in last week's first leg.
Match preview
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Real Betis return to continental action on Thursday aiming to book their place in a main European competition for the fourth straight season, having bypassed qualifying to enter the Europa League group stage in the previous three years.
Having then dropped to a seventh-placed finish in La Liga last time around, Los Verdiblancos had to settle for a playoff-round entry into Europa Conference League qualifying this term, entering one round before the league phase in a two-legged tie with Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih, and they made a positive start in the first leg last week.
Manuel Pellegrini's side travelled to Kosice last Thursday and quickly led the tie, as Ezequiel Avila opened the scoring in the 13th minute, and Rodri would double their lead heading into the home leg by adding his name to the scoresheet on the hour mark.
That away triumph followed an opening-day 1-1 draw with Girona in La Liga, and Los Verdiblancos now return on the back of another domestic stalemate, having visited newly-promoted Alaves on Sunday and settled for a share of the spoils as neither side were able to break the deadlock.
Now returning to the Estadio Benito Villamarin with a 2-0 aggregate lead to defend, Real Betis will look to book their league-phase place in style before visiting defending champions Real Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, will set out to complete a historic comeback in Seville and advance through European qualifying in their first ever attempt this season.
Thanks to a third-placed finish in the Ukrainian top flight last time around, Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih earned entry into Europa League qualifying in the third round and went on to enter the Europa Conference League playoff round after suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Viktoria Plzen in mid-August.
That set up a tricky tie with Real Betis standing between them and the league phase, and Yuriy Vernydub's side now find themselves with a tougher task at hand, having succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in last week's first leg in Slovakia.
They would return to domestic action on Sunday at home to Inhulets Petrove and move onto seven points from four outings in Ukraine's top flight with a 1-1 draw, having fallen behind early to an Oleksandr Pyatov goal before Oleg Kozhushko levelled the scores late in the first half.
Kryvbas will now turn their focus back to their first-ever continental qualifying campaign with the need to overturn their two-goal deficit at the Estadio Benito Villamarin to advance to the league phase of Europe's tertiary competition.
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Team News
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Manuel Pellegrini rotated his Real Betis starting XI for last week's first leg in Kosice, and he could revert to the same starting XI as that game on Thursday, with Isco and Cedric Bakambu remaining sidelined by injuries.
Ezequiel Avila is bound to lead the line again after netting the opener in that first meeting, while Rodri, who also got on the scoresheet, should continue in a supporting trio, likely alongside Nabil Fekir and Abde Ezzalzouli.
Sergi Altimira and Johnny Cardoso could again be handed opportunities in the midfield, after Marc Roca and William Carvalho returned for Sunday's trip to Alaves, while summer signings Natan and Diego Llorente should reform their partnership at the heart of a back four.
After coming off the bench in Thursday's first leg, Oleg Kozhushko should lead the Kryvbas attack from the outset in Spain, having netted his ninth goal of the season in their 1-1 league draw on Sunday.
Jean-Morel Poe, Artur Mykytyshyn, Daniel Sosah and Denys Kuzyk will all compete to join him in a front three, while Djihad Bizimana is a mainstay in the midfield.
Maksym Lunyov should also continue in the engine room, while Oleksandr Romanchuk may come back in to join key man Tymur Stetskov in the middle of the defence.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bellerin, Llorente, Natan, Perraud; Cardoso, Altimira; Rodri, Fekir, Ezzalzouli; Avila
Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih possible starting lineup:
Klishchuk; Bandeira, Romanchuk, Stetskov, Dibango; Bizimana, Lunyov, Vakulko; Kuzyk, Kozhushko, Sosah
We say: Real Betis 3-0 Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih (Real Betis win 5-0 on aggregate)
Real Betis showed their superior quality against Ukrainian opposition in last week's first leg, and with home advantage on their side, we can only envisage Los Verdiblancos extending their aggregate lead in dominant fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
