Real Betis will be aiming to make it four straight wins in all competitions when they welcome Rayo Vallecano to Seville on Sunday night.
Manuel Pellegrini's side are currently ninth in the La Liga table, picking up 24 points from their opening 17 matches of the campaign, while Rayo are 12th, with the capital outfit collecting 21 points from their 17 games.
Match preview
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Real Betis have had a busy December, already taking to the field on six occasions, and they have lost just once during a successful month, recording four wins in the process, including their last three in all competitions.
Indeed, Pellegrini's side have beaten Petrocub and HJK in the Conference League either side of a 2-1 success over Villarreal, with that result moving them into ninth spot in the La Liga table, boasting 24 points from 17 matches.
Real Betis are only three points behind fifth-placed Villarreal on the same number of matches and will be expecting to be in the argument for a potential European spot come the end of the campaign.
The Green and Whites have only been beaten once at home in the league this season, picking up 15 points from eight matches, and they will now be bidding to enter the winter break in Spain off the back of a fourth straight victory.
The Seville outfit have won three of their last four league matches against Rayo, but they suffered a 2-0 defeat when the two teams last locked horns in Madrid earlier this year.
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Rayo, meanwhile, were involved in a six-goal thriller against Real Madrid last weekend, which finished 3-3, before again taking to the field on Wednesday night, picking up another point in a 1-1 draw away to Villarreal.
The capital outfit are unbeaten since a 2-1 reverse to Athletic Bilbao at the start of the month, so they are also in good form, while a solid campaign to date has left them in 12th spot in the La Liga table on 21 points.
Inigo Perez's side are only three points behind Real Betis and sit six points above the relegation zone, so the team should be looking up the division rather than down heading towards the start of 2025.
Los Franjirrojos actually finished 17th during a disappointing 2023-24 campaign, so there was plenty of room for improvement this term, and there have been a lot of positive signs in the first half of the season.
Team News
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Real Betis will again be missing Hector Bellerin, Marc Roca and William Carvalho through injury, while Rui Silva and Pablo Fornals are major doubts for this weekend's contest.
The hosts will also be without the services of Ezequiel Avila, who was handed a red card against Villarreal last weekend.
Head coach Pellegrini is expected to make just the one change from the side that started against Villarreal, with Assane Diao, who featured from the off in Europe on Thursday, likely to be given the nod in a wide area due to Avila's absence.
As for Rayo, Pelayo Fernandez and Raul de Tomas are again both set to be absent, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape for their final match of the year.
Head coach Perez could make a couple of changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Villarreal on Wednesday, with Isi Palazon and Pathe Ciss potentially coming into the XI.
Alvaro Garcia was on the scoresheet in the clash with the Yellow Submarine, and the Spaniard is again expected to feature in a wide area, with Oscar Trejo staying as the number 10.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Vieites; Sabaly, Bartra, Llorente, Perraud; Cardoso, Altimira; Diao, Lo Celso, Ezzalzouli; Roque
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Balliu, Lejeune, Mumin, Espino; Valentin, Ciss; De Frutos, Trejo, A Garcia; Palazon
We say: Real Betis 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
This is a really tough match to call, and it would not be a surprise to see the points shared on Sunday; Real Betis were 1-0 winners in the corresponding game last season, though, and we can see another narrow success for the hosts on this occasion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
