Primera La Liga:
Handicap
Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid
0 : 0
Over / Under 2 3/4
Both teams will be desperate to win when they meet in Seville in the last game of the Primera weekend.
The two most inconsistent sides in La Primera Division meet at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera on Sunday evening as Real Betis take on Champions League-chasing Atletico Madrid. The home side are far from safe with five games to go this season and will be looking to inflict more misery on an Atletico team who have been woeful away from the capital this year…
Bad Betis
Ironically though, whilst Atletico have been bad away from home this season, Betis have been truly awful in front of their home fans and have picked up just three wins all season. The fact that two of those victories came in the first three months of the campaign shows just how much suffering their supporters have had to endure, and the team currently have the worst home record in La Primera.
Recently they have struggled to pick up points away from the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera as well, and it is only thanks to wins over Racing Santander and Sporting Gijon that they are not in the bottom three coming into this match. Before the victory against the Cantabrian team they had taken six points from their last seven matches and now come into this game having lost two games on the spin.
With such an experienced and talented squad it has been a truly underwhelming season for Betis, and even though they should manage to stay up, they will have to improve immensely next year. Achille Emana has been their one stand-out player in the league and, much like their opponents on Sunday, too many of the team have simply been below-par and dreadfully inconsistent.
Up And Down Atletico
Indeed, below-par and inconsistent could be two phrases used to describe the Atletico Madrid team over the course of the season as they have yet again struggled to live up to expectations. Defeats to Real Mallorca and Osasuna a few weeks ago were one thing but a 5-1 thrashing against Racing Santander was completely another, and the fans made their feelings known towards the players in the win over Sporting Gijon last weekend.
Shouts of ‘mercenary’ could be heard from the stands and after the match, Tomas Ujfalusi declared that it is easier for his team to play away from home due to the pressure from the crowd. Unfortunately for him, and perhaps the rest of the team, the stats do not agree with the Czech as, away from the Vicente Calderon they have won just five times, whilst in Madrid they have picked up ten wins.
This weekend they will be looking to build on their win over Sporting but the trouble is that so many times they have got a good foundation for a run of games, yet too often then slipped up by losing to a team below them in the table. The last time they met it was Atletico who ran out 2-0 winners, but predicting the outcome of this game is simply impossible due to the horrid inconsistency of both teams.
FORM GUIDE
Real Betis
Apr 26 Espanyol 2-0 Real Betis (La Liga)
Apr 22 Real Betis 1-2 Valencia (La Liga)
Apr 19 Real Betis 2-0 Sporting Gijon (La Liga)
Apr 12 Racing Santander 2-3 Real Betis (La Liga)
Apr 4 Real Betis 3-3 Numancia (La Liga)
Atletico Madrid
Apr 26 Atletico Madrid 3-1 Sporting Gijon (La Liga)
Apr 23 Racing Santander 5-1 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 18 Atletico Madrid 3-0 Numancia (La Liga)
Apr 12 Deportivo La Coruna 1-2 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 5 Atletico Madrid 2-4 Osasuna (La Liga)
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TEAM NEWS
Real Betis
Jose Maria Nogues will have nearly a full strength side to face Atletico, with the one major absence being Mehmet Aurelio, who is out for the season with injury.
Probable Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Ricardo – Nelson, Melli, Juanito, Vega – Arzu, Capi– Edu, Emana, Gonzalez - Oliveira
Atletico Madrid
The big doubt for Atletico is Sergio Aguero, who didn’t train on Friday and is carrying an injury heading into the match.
He will be evaluated at the last minute, whilst Maniche and Giourkas Seitiaridis have been given a ten day ban for not attending the match last weekend and they are not in the squad.
Simao is suspended and Antonio Lopez injured, so Resino will have to change things around.
Probable Line-Up (4-4-2): Leo Franco – Perea, Ujfalusi, Pablo, Pernia – Maxi, Banega, Assuncao, Luis Garcia– Forlan, Aguero
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Betis
Achille Emana has been the stand-out player for Betis this year and his team will be looking for a few more big performances before the season is out. His strength, power and direct running should give the Atletico defence plenty of problems and he could be key in deciding this game.
Atletico Madrid
With Betis possessing a talented midfield, Paulo Assuncao could be vital for Atletico, as he has been for a lot of this season to date. His tackling has provided the backline with at least a little bit of cover and his distribution will help the front men to break and get time on the ball.
PREDICTION
When the two most inconsistent sides in La Primera meet, any type of prediction is going to be tough and any result is possible on Sunday evening. Betis have been awful at home, Atletico have been poor away from home, both teams are looking far from their best and a draw would not be great for either, but that could well be the outcome.
Real Betis 0 - 2 Atletico Madrid
Both teams will be desperate to win when they meet in Seville in the last game of the Primera weekend.
The two most inconsistent sides in La Primera Division meet at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera on Sunday evening as Real Betis take on Champions League-chasing Atletico Madrid. The home side are far from safe with five games to go this season and will be looking to inflict more misery on an Atletico team who have been woeful away from the capital this year…
Bad Betis
Ironically though, whilst Atletico have been bad away from home this season, Betis have been truly awful in front of their home fans and have picked up just three wins all season. The fact that two of those victories came in the first three months of the campaign shows just how much suffering their supporters have had to endure, and the team currently have the worst home record in La Primera.
Recently they have struggled to pick up points away from the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera as well, and it is only thanks to wins over Racing Santander and Sporting Gijon that they are not in the bottom three coming into this match. Before the victory against the Cantabrian team they had taken six points from their last seven matches and now come into this game having lost two games on the spin.
With such an experienced and talented squad it has been a truly underwhelming season for Betis, and even though they should manage to stay up, they will have to improve immensely next year. Achille Emana has been their one stand-out player in the league and, much like their opponents on Sunday, too many of the team have simply been below-par and dreadfully inconsistent.
Up And Down Atletico
Indeed, below-par and inconsistent could be two phrases used to describe the Atletico Madrid team over the course of the season as they have yet again struggled to live up to expectations. Defeats to Real Mallorca and Osasuna a few weeks ago were one thing but a 5-1 thrashing against Racing Santander was completely another, and the fans made their feelings known towards the players in the win over Sporting Gijon last weekend.
Shouts of ‘mercenary’ could be heard from the stands and after the match, Tomas Ujfalusi declared that it is easier for his team to play away from home due to the pressure from the crowd. Unfortunately for him, and perhaps the rest of the team, the stats do not agree with the Czech as, away from the Vicente Calderon they have won just five times, whilst in Madrid they have picked up ten wins.
This weekend they will be looking to build on their win over Sporting but the trouble is that so many times they have got a good foundation for a run of games, yet too often then slipped up by losing to a team below them in the table. The last time they met it was Atletico who ran out 2-0 winners, but predicting the outcome of this game is simply impossible due to the horrid inconsistency of both teams.
FORM GUIDE
Real Betis
Apr 26 Espanyol 2-0 Real Betis (La Liga)
Apr 22 Real Betis 1-2 Valencia (La Liga)
Apr 19 Real Betis 2-0 Sporting Gijon (La Liga)
Apr 12 Racing Santander 2-3 Real Betis (La Liga)
Apr 4 Real Betis 3-3 Numancia (La Liga)
Atletico Madrid
Apr 26 Atletico Madrid 3-1 Sporting Gijon (La Liga)
Apr 23 Racing Santander 5-1 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 18 Atletico Madrid 3-0 Numancia (La Liga)
Apr 12 Deportivo La Coruna 1-2 Atletico Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 5 Atletico Madrid 2-4 Osasuna (La Liga)
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TEAM NEWS
Real Betis
Jose Maria Nogues will have nearly a full strength side to face Atletico, with the one major absence being Mehmet Aurelio, who is out for the season with injury.
Probable Line-Up (4-2-3-1): Ricardo – Nelson, Melli, Juanito, Vega – Arzu, Capi– Edu, Emana, Gonzalez - Oliveira
Atletico Madrid
The big doubt for Atletico is Sergio Aguero, who didn’t train on Friday and is carrying an injury heading into the match.
He will be evaluated at the last minute, whilst Maniche and Giourkas Seitiaridis have been given a ten day ban for not attending the match last weekend and they are not in the squad.
Simao is suspended and Antonio Lopez injured, so Resino will have to change things around.
Probable Line-Up (4-4-2): Leo Franco – Perea, Ujfalusi, Pablo, Pernia – Maxi, Banega, Assuncao, Luis Garcia– Forlan, Aguero
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Betis
Achille Emana has been the stand-out player for Betis this year and his team will be looking for a few more big performances before the season is out. His strength, power and direct running should give the Atletico defence plenty of problems and he could be key in deciding this game.
Atletico Madrid
With Betis possessing a talented midfield, Paulo Assuncao could be vital for Atletico, as he has been for a lot of this season to date. His tackling has provided the backline with at least a little bit of cover and his distribution will help the front men to break and get time on the ball.
PREDICTION
When the two most inconsistent sides in La Primera meet, any type of prediction is going to be tough and any result is possible on Sunday evening. Betis have been awful at home, Atletico have been poor away from home, both teams are looking far from their best and a draw would not be great for either, but that could well be the outcome.
Real Betis 0 - 2 Atletico Madrid
( Goal )
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