La Liga: Sevilla vs. Betis

Posted on | January 3, 2008 | No Comments

It’s the Sevilla derby again and this one should prove to be the closest for quite a few years. Sevilla have now gone four games without losing, but this is the first time this season so you can imagine what a disappointment it has been so far. Now that the Champions league has finished until they face Fenerbahce in March, Sevilla can concentrate on their league form. Being eighth in La Liga and nine points from a Champions league spot, they need to get their skates on. A win here against their bitter rivals would be a huge injection of confidence for the squad, who hope to make this New Year even better than the last.
Betis meanwhile, has gone through something of a transformation since new coach Paco Chaparro took over the reins from Hector Cuper, and they have somewhat surprisingly managed to get seven points from the last nine. Even though Betis still sit in a relegation spot third from the bottom of the table, the future is suddenly a lot brighter. Just three points separate Betis from ninth placed Zaragoza, and a win for Betis will cut the distance with Sevilla to just two.
Sevilla had been hoping to save some of their more important figures for this match by keeping them on the bench for the King’s cup second leg game on Wednesday against third division minnows Denia. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned and there was very nearly an historic upset. The final result was four goals to three to the La Liga side, but only after they were able to score two goals in the last two minutes of the game. Betis also had a King’s cup match on Wednesday, but they passed without any pressure at all. They eliminated second division Elche by three goals to nothing and therefore will go into this New Year derby a little more confident than before.
The last time Betis beat Sevilla at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium was in 1996. I’m going to stick my head out here and go for a Betis triumph. Paco Chaparro has really impressed by what he has already been able to salvage from this squad, and if he can get the three points from Sevilla they will certainly build a statue in his honor. Sevilla haven’t lost in four matches and are doing great in the Champions league, but they are still very wobbly in La Liga and I don’t really trust them to be able to take the game to Betis.
Prediction: Away win (1-2)

Related posts:

1. La Liga: Racing de Santander vs. Betis
2. La Liga: Betis vs. Levante
3. La Liga: Betis vs. Recreativo de Huelva
4. La Liga: Athletic — Sevilla
5. La Liga: Betis vs. Getafe

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