After dropping two points at the weekend, Real Betis will attempt to get their Champions League qualification bid back on track when they travel to Vallecas for Thursday’s meeting with Rayo Vallecano.
Los Verdiblancos are currently sitting in sixth place in La Liga, while Rayo are just inside the European places in eighth position.
Match preview
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Having collected 47 points from 35 matches, Rayo are dreaming of securing European football for the second time in their history and the first time since they reached the UEFA Cup finals in 2000-01.
Los Franjirrojos are currently in the Conference League qualification spot, knowing they could still miss out on Europe altogether, or even upgrade to the Europa League with just two points separating them from seventh-placed Celta Vigo.
With the race for Europe set to go to the wire, Rayo appear to be hitting form at the right stage of the season after ending a four-game winless run with consecutive 1-0 victories.
Florian Lejeune‘s seventh-minute header proved to be the decisive goal in their most recent home outing against Getafe, before Alvaro Garcia netted the winner in Friday’s trip to Gran Canaria, as Rayo became the first team in La Liga history to win four consecutive away games against Las Palmas without conceding.
Having won their last two matches with clean sheets, Rayo now have the chance to record three consecutive wins without conceding for the first time in their La Liga history.
Los Franjirrojos have only won one of their last 11 La Liga meetings with Betis (D4, L6), although that sole victory did take place in their most recent home clash in March 2024 when goals from Florian Lejeune and Sergio Camello fired them to a 2-0 victory.
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Betis are looking forward to competing in their first-ever European final after they got the better of Italian Fiorentina in last week’s dramatic Conference League semi-final second leg in Florence.
Los Verdiblancos took a narrow lead into the second leg, before Fiorentina established a 2-1 advantage on the night to send the tie into extra time, where Abde Ezzalzouli scored the decisive goal to set up a showdown with Chelsea in Poland later this month.
However, Betis did have long to celebrate as they quickly turned their focus to Sunday’s La Liga home clash against Osasuna, which proved to be a frustrating contest as Cucho Hernandez saw his effort cancelled out by Ante Budimir, ensuring Manuel Pellegrini‘s side had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
As a result, the Andalusian side now have their work cut out to secure a top-five finish and Champions League qualification, given the fact they are now three points adrift from fifth-placed Villareal and six points away from Athletic Bilbao in fourth position.
Betis will surely feel they need to win their final three games against Rayo, Atletico Madrid and Valencia if they are to have any chance of securing Champions League qualification for just the second time in their history.
Thursday’s visitors have enjoyed success in their recent away trips, having won four of their last five away league outings, including their last two against Girona and Espanyol.
Team News
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Rayo remain without Randy Nteka and Abdul Mumin due to knee injuries, while Jonathan Montiel is sidelined with a quad problem.
Pathe Ciss is set to return to the starting lineup following a one-match ban, but Isi Palazon is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.
Striker Raul de Tomas is set to feature in the matchday squad after missing the win over Las Palmas with a minor injury issue.
As for the visitors, Pellegrini is still unable to call upon the injured trio of Diego Llorente, Marc Roca and Chimy Avila.
Hector Bellerin is also on the absentee list after suffering a season-ending hamstring injury in last week’s extra-time win over Fiorentina.
After making wholesale changes at the weekend, Pellegrini may decide to recall Youssouf Sabaly, Ricardo Rodriguez, Johnny Cardoso, Isco, Antony, Pablo Fornals and Cedric Bakambu.
Rayo Vallecano possible starting lineup:
Batalla; Ratiu, Lejeune, Hernandez, Chavarria; Ciss, Lopez; De Frutos, Diaz, Garcia; Embarba
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Adrian; Sabaly, Bartra, Natan, Rodriguez; Cardoso, Lo Celso; Antony, Isco, Fornals; Bakambu
We say: Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Real Betis
Betis may have been held in Sunday’s home game against Osasuna, but they have travelled well in recent times to win four of their last five La Liga away matches, and with that in mind, we think the visitors will do enough to see off Rayo on Thursday.
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