Real Betis will aim to put a major European setback behind them on Tuesday evening when they travel to Estadi Montilivi to take on Girona.
November’s 1-1 draw stretched Betis’s unbeaten run to three matches against Girona, with the hosts recording just one win in 15 meetings across all competitions since October 2010.
Match preview
After conceding the opening goal in their Europa League quarter-final tie against Braga, Betis struck three times without reply across the second half of the first leg and the first half of the second leg to establish a commanding 3-1 advantage—seemingly putting them in pole position to progress.
However, what followed was a dramatic collapse, with Manuel Pellegrini’s side conceding four unanswered goals to Pau Victor, Vitor Carvalho, Ricardo Horta, and Jean-Baptiste Gorby, crashing out of Europe’s second-tier competition in disappointing fashion.
El Glorioso’s exit capped a difficult week for La Liga sides in Europe, as Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Celta Vigo also saw their continental adventures come to an end.
With Barcelona and Real Madrid already assured of Champions League football next season, Betis now focus on consolidating fifth place, which would secure a Europa League berth.
Since stringing together three consecutive league wins at the start of February, Betis have failed to win any of their last seven matches, taking only five points from a possible 21.
That run has allowed Celta to close the gap to within two points, leaving Betis with little margin for error in the race for fifth with seven games remaining.
© Imago / IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Just a year after their top-flight return, Girona stunned many with a third-place finish in 2023-24, earning Champions League football for the first time in their history.
However, last term proved a reality check, as Girona finished just one point above the drop zone and suffered an early exit in their Champions League debut.
After two contrasting seasons, Michel’s men now find themselves in mid-tablelevel on points with 10th-placed Espanyol following a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Real Madrid last time out.
No La Liga side have conceded fewer goals over the last five gameweeks than Los Blanquivermells, who have collected eight points and lost just once—to Osasuna—during that run.
Central to this has been Girona’s home form; something they will be looking to capitalise on in their next outing, having won three of their most recent four matches at the Montilivi.
Girona La Liga form:
Real Betis La Liga form:
Real Betis form (all competitions):
Team News
© Imago / AFLOSPORT
Juan Carlos and Portu are both sidelined with knee injuries and will not feature for Girona, who are also without Abel Ruiz due to a muscle problem.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen has made just two appearances since joining from Barcelona, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury sustained at the start of February.
Donny van de Beek (Achilles tendon) and Vladyslav Vanat (hamstring) complete the list of confirmed absentees for the hosts, while Ricard Artero is a doubt with an ankle issue.
Betis winger Antony is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Osasuna, ruling him out of this encounter.
Defensive duo Junior Firpo (muscle) and Angel Ortiz (shoulder) also missed the previous game and remain major doubts for Monday’s clash.
Girona possible starting lineup:
Gazzaniga; Rincon, Vitor Reis, Blind, Martinez; Beltran, Witsel; Tsygankov, Ounahi, Lemar; Echeverri
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Valles; Gomez, Llorente, Bartra, Bellerin; Fidalgo, Amrabat, Fornals; Ezzalzouli, Cucho, Ruibal
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