Real Betis will be looking to make it four La Liga victories in a row when they continue their campaign at home to an out-of-form Alaves team on Monday night.
The hosts are currently sixth in the table, having picked up an impressive 39 points from 25 matches, while Alaves, who have lost their last three in Spain's top flight, occupy 18th position.
Match preview
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Betis finished 15th in La Liga last season, but the Seville outfit are very much in the race for a potential Europa League position this term, picking up 39 points from 25 matches to occupy sixth position in the table.
Manuel Pellegrini's side are actually only three points behind fifth-placed Real Sociedad, while they are two points clear of seventh-placed Villarreal with a game in hand over the Yellow Submarine.
Betis have lost 10 times in Spain's top flight this season, which is a high number considering their position in the table, but an impressive record of 12 wins has left them in a strong position.
The Green and Whites have won four of their last five in the league, including back-to-back 1-0 victories over Getafe and Cadiz, while they have lost just one of their last nine during an excellent run of form.
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Alaves, as mentioned, will enter Monday's contest off the back of three straight losses, conceding 10 times in the defeats to Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Osasuna, managing just one goal in the process.
Abelardo's side currently sit 18th in the table, just two points above basement side Huesca, but they are level on points with Real Valladolid in 17th ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
The race for survival is Spain's top flight is fascinating as just five points separate the bottom six teams, while Getafe in 14th position are only five points clear of the relegation zone.
Alaves have lost 13 of their 25 league matches this season, which is the worst record in the division in terms of defeats, and the team's next away game is a trip to leaders Atletico Madrid on March 21.
El Glorioso actually recorded a 2-1 victory in the corresponding game between the two sides last season, but Betis ran out 1-0 winners when the pair locked horns back in September.
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Team News
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Betis will again be without the services of Victor Camarasa and Dani Martin through injury, but William Carvalho is available following a suspension, while Nabil Fekir is back after a hamstring problem.
Borja Iglesias is also expected to shake off a muscular issue in time for the contest, but Marc Bartra is still battling a tendon problem and could again miss out.
There are not expected to be too many changes from the side that started against Cadiz, with Fekir for Diego Lainez potentially the only alteration, as Loren Moron should continue in attack despite Iglesias's return.
As for Alaves, Rodrigo Ely remains on the sidelines with a ligament injury, but Pere Pons is available following a recent problem and is in contention to play a part.
Head coach Abelardo is expected to make alterations from the side that started against Osasuna, with Ruben Duarte likely to come in at left-back, while on-loan Manchester United attacker Facundo Pellistri is also pushing to be involved from the start.
There are unlikely to be any changes in the final third, though, with Joselu again set to be joined by Lucas Perez as part of a front two, meaning that Edgar Mendez should operate on the right.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Joel; Emerson, Mandi, Ruiz, Miranda; Guardado, Rodriguez; Ruibal, Canales, Fekir; Moron
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Navarro, Laguardia, Lejeune, Duarte; Mendez, Garcia, Pina, Cordoba; Perez, Joselu
We say: Real Betis 1-0 Alaves
Alaves have the third-worst away record in La Liga this season, and it is very difficult to back them to pick up a positive result in Monday's clash. Betis might not have it all their own way over the course of the 90 minutes, but we are expecting Pellegrini's side to put another three points on the board.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Betis win with a probability of 55.35%. A draw had a probability of 26% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 18.69%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 1-0 with a probability of 15.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.82%) and 2-1 (8.97%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.82%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (7.79%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Real Betis would win this match.
