Real Betis will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign at home to Getafe on Sunday evening.
Manuel Pellegrini's side beat Mallorca 1-0 in their last match at this level of football, while Getafe will enter the contest off the back of a 2-0 home reverse to Real Madrid.
Match preview
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Real Betis have struggled to show consistency this season, but they have picked up six points from the last nine available, with three of those coming courtesy of a 1-0 success over Mallorca last weekend.
The Seville outfit also beat Granada 1-0 earlier this month before suffering a 4-2 home loss to Barcelona, and a total of 34 points from 22 matches has left them in seventh position in the La Liga table, two points behind sixth-placed Real Sociedad in the race to secure a European finish.
Pellegrini's side have only lost four league games this season, but too many draws (10) have prevented them from pushing higher up the division at this stage.
Real Betis were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Alaves last month, but they remain active in Europe, with the team preparing to take on Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa Conference League knockout round playoffs.
The Green and Whites have two league games against Getafe and Cadiz before the first leg of their European contest on February 15, and they will certainly be a team to watch in the Europa Conference League, providing that Pellegrini can lead them into the knockout round.
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Getafe have earned a lot of praise for their performance level this season, but the capital outfit's form has just dipped of late, suffering three losses from their last four matches in all competitions.
Jose Bordalas's side were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Sevilla on January 16 before going down 3-2 at Osasuna in the league, but they managed to return to winning ways by beating Granada 2-0 at home.
Getafe then welcomed Real Madrid on Thursday evening, but they were unable to secure a positive result, with a brace from Joselu allowing Los Blancos to record a 2-0 victory, with the result leaving the home side in 10th position in the table on 29 points from 22 matches.
The Deep Blue Ones are only three points behind eighth-placed Valencia, while they are 13 points ahead of the bottom three, with the team having no relegation fears at this stage of the campaign.
Getafe actually recorded a 1-0 victory when they travelled to Real Betis for the corresponding match last season, while the points were shared in a 1-1 draw in their meeting earlier this term.
Team News
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Real Betis have a substantial injury list at this stage, with new arrival Ezequiel Avila out with an ankle problem, while Aitor Ruibal, Ayoze Perez, Guido Rodriguez, Youssouf Sabaly and Marc Bartra are still missing.
This match is also likely to come too soon for William Carvalho and Claudio Bravo, but Marc Roca could be back in contention following an illness.
Cedric Bakambu made the move to the club from Galatasaray on transfer deadline day, and the experienced forward could be involved in some capacity this weekend, but Luis Henrique has left the club for Botafogo.
As for Getafe, Mauro Arambarri remains sidelined with a serious knee injury, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into this match.
Head coach Bordalas is expected to bring Juanmi Latasa back into his XI for this match, which is likely to lead to Mason Greenwood moving into a wide position.
Jose Angel Carmona is expected to be the player to drop down to the bench, with Latasa set to feature alongside Borja Mayoral, who has found the back of the net on 14 occasions in Spain's top flight this term.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bellerin, Pezzella, Papastathopoulos, Abner; Altimira, Cardoso; Rodri, Isco, Diao; Fekir
Getafe possible starting lineup:
Soria; Suarez, Duarte, Alderete, Alvarez; Greenwood, Dakonam, Milla, Maksimovic; Mayoral, Latasa
We say: Real Betis 2-1 Getafe
This is a tough match to call, as Real Betis are far from at full strength, and Getafe are having a strong season despite a recent wobble. It would not be a surprise to see the points shared here, but we just have a feeling that the hosts will be able to navigate their way to a vital three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
