- Venue: Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville
- Date and time: Thursday, December 14, at 21:00
- Teams: Real Betis vs Glasgow Rangers
Rangers face tough task away at Betis
This week sees the final group stage matches in the three European club competitions. The Champions League , the Europa League and Europa Conference League group stages will all conclude this week. In the Europa League, most of the groups have lready had the first two places confirmed, but in Group C it is still wide open. Spain’s Real Betis top the table on nine points, one ahead of Rangers and a further point ahead of Sparta Prague. While Sparta travel to Cyprus to take on Aris, an exciting battle awaits in Seville where Real Betis host Rangers. Check out the best Europa League betting sites in the UK with Betting.com.
Real Betis
Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis drew at home to title favourites Real Madrid in La Liga last weekend. Betis probably deserved a win, but the point keeps them in seventh place in the table. Jude Bellingham gave the visitors a 1-0 lead after 53 minutes, but Betis equalised through Aitor Ruibal.
In the Europa League where Spanish teams have a fantastic record, Betis, despite topping the group, have lacked consistency. a b. In the fifth round of fixtures the Andalusian side had the chance to secure a place in the top two of the group, but lost to Sparta Prague.
Against Rangers, Betis have to do without a whole host of players who are still on the injury list. In the last match against Real Madrid in La Liga, Guido Rodriguez, Nabil Fekir, William Carvalho, Claudio Bravo, Youssouf Sabaly and Marc Bartra were missing. However, Hector Bellerin who was suspended is available for games in the Europa League.
Glasgow Rangers
1-1 at home against Aris in the last round of the Europa League, was a huge disappointment for Rangers. The loss of points at Ibrox means that Phillippe Clement’s side risk missing out on a play-off spot in the Europa League if Sparta Prague beat Aris away. If Rangers and Sparta Prague lose means that the ‘Gers will drop to third place in the group, which would mean the Europa Conference League.
In the Aris, the Cypriot side took the lead after 28 minutes through Shavy Babicka. The equaliser came at the start of the second half from Ross McCausland.
Domestically, in the Socttish Premiership, Rangers are second behind rivals Celtic. Last weekend saw their third straight league win at home against Dundee. With 16 matches played, Clement’s team trail leaders Celtic by five points, with a game in hand.
Like Thursday’s opponent Real Betis, Rangers have a lot of players on the injury list. Against Dundee, Danilo, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack, Tom Lawrence and Nicolas Raskin were missing. None of these are expected to be ready to play during the week.
Previous meetings
Real Betis and Rangers had necer met prior to this season. Rangers won the fixture at Ibrox 1-0 with a goal from Abdallah Sima.
Prediction
Real Betis showed their undoubted class against Real Madrid this weekend and, if you look at the team’s home record so far this season, they will be a tough nut to crack. In the Europa League group stage, the Spaniards have two straight victories at home and in La Liga they have taken 18 points from eight home games.
With Betis’ strong home advantage, it is unsurprising that they are favorites against Rangers. At the time of writing, SpreadEx have Betis priced at 3/4, with Rangers 16/5 and a draw 11/4. I feel that Betis will have a little too much for Rangers and will come away with the win. Punters looking for extra value could look at the odds for the match having less than 2.5 goals. Both teams have three out of five games that ended under 2.5 goals.
Check out the best football betting sites and the best Europa League betting sites with Betting.com.
