Valencia and Betis meet in the return of the semifinals of Copei del Rey. The match will be played on Estadio de Mestalla on Thursday at 20:00.
In the tour of the double, the two bands ended the duel on Estadio Benito Villamarin, score 2-2. Also in the current competitive season, Valencia and Betis ended the match in the 4th round of La Liga, 0-0 on Estadio de Mestalla.
The band, prepared by Marcelino Garcia Toral, traverses an excellent period, being unbeaten in the last 9 games played in all competitions. However, the “bats” managed to win only 4 victories in this series, two of which were won in the Europa League, against Celtic, 1-0 home and 2-0 away.
In La Liga, Valencia is ranked 9th with 33 points after 25 rounds, being the band that has the most draws this season, 15. In the last stage, they drew on the field at Leganes, score 1-1, the game showing 8 yellow cards.
Ezequiel Garay is injured. The ref is taking no bull today and Ezequiel Garay is booked for complaining.
Unlike the hosts of this duel, the band in Sevilla has real chances to win a Champions League spot at the end of the La Liga season, being just 3 points away from the 4th Getafe team. In the last round of the championship, Quique Setien’s students succeeded in interrupting a series of 5 games in a row without winning in all competitions, with the success of the 2-0 win in Valladolid.
Junior Firpo (injured) is not fit for the Valencia move, while Cristian Tello, Antonio Barragan, Diego Lainez and Jese are uncertain.
Probable teams:
Valencia: Domenech – Piccini, Diakhaby, Paulista, Gaya – Wass, Parejo, Coquelin, Guedes – Moreno, Gameiro;
Betis: Robles – Mandi, Bartra, Sidney – Francis, Carvalho, Canales, Guardado – Celso, Moron, Joaquin;
Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez is the center of this game, a referee who does not hesitate to take the card out of his pocket when the situation demands it. Only four yellow cards were awarded in the tournament, but in the championship match there were no less than 9 warnings. Considering the match, qualifying in the final of Copei del Rey, we anticipate an extremely tense duel, in which the center has to calm the spirits with cardboard given to the players.
PREDICTION: Valencia to win @ 1,75
