Real Betis will be looking to build on their dramatic Copa del Rey victory over Sevilla when they continue their La Liga campaign at home to Alaves on Tuesday night.
The home side are currently third in Spain's top flight, boasting 34 points from their opening 20 matches, while Alaves sit 18th, having picked up just 17 points from their 20 league games this term.
Match preview
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Betis came from a goal down to beat rivals Sevilla in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey, with the match restarting on Sunday after being postponed on Saturday evening.
In the aftermath of Nabil Fekir's celebrations when he levelled the scores, Sevilla midfielder Joan Jordan was struck by a missile from the crowd, which led to the match being postponed; Sergio Canales hit the winner on Sunday, with the home side recording a 2-1 victory to advance to the quarter-finals.
Betis will now resume their league campaign at home to Alaves and will be looking to return to winning ways in Spain's top flight, having failed to triumph in La Liga since December 12.
Manuel Pellegrini's side have picked up just one point from their last three matches but are enjoying an excellent campaign in Spain's top flight, securing 34 points from 20 games to sit third in the table, so they are very much in the battle for a top-four finish at this stage.
The Green and Whites, who have not managed to claim a Champions League finish in La Liga since the 2004-05 season, are also competing in the Europa League this term, with the Seville-based outfit set to take on Zenit St Petersburg in the first knockout round of the competition next month.
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Alaves, meanwhile, were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the middle of December, so they have not been in action since drawing 0-0 with Athletic Bilbao in the league on January 9.
The Basque outfit have held Real Sociedad and Athletic in their opening two matches of 2022 but have not been victorious in Spain's top flight since beating Levante 2-1 at the start of November.
A record of four wins, five draws and 11 defeats from 17 matches has brought Alaves 17 points, which has left them in 18th position in the table, one point from the safety of 17th position.
Former Eibar boss Jose Luis Mendilibar was appointed head coach of El Glorioso at the end of December, and the 60-year-old has picked up draws in his two games at the helm.
Alaves have found it difficult on their travels this season, winning just one of their nine matches, but they will have had much longer than Betis to prepare for this contest.
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Team News
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Betis will be without the services of Alex Moreno through suspension, while Hector Bellerin is a fitness doubt for the home side, so Youssouf Sabaly and Victor Ruiz could start in defence.
Willian Jose and Martin Montoya are also both on the sidelines for the Green and Whites through injury, and Pellegrini will need to assess the fitness of his players following the clash with Sevilla.
There are not expected to be any major surprises in the Betis XI, with Canales, Fekir and Juanmi once again set to feature as the three players behind lone striker Borja Iglesias.
As for Alaves, Florian Lejeune is absent through suspension, while John Guidetti, Saul Garcia, Pere Pons and Ximo Navarro will miss out through COVID-19 and injury.
Head coach Mendilibar will have been pleased with what he saw against Athletic last time out, so it would not be a surprise to see the majority of the side again take to the field.
Edgar Mendez and Facundo Pellistri are options for change in the attacking areas, but Miguel de la Fuente should again feature alongside Joselu for the visitors.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Sabaly, Gonzalez, Pezzella, Ruiz; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Canales, Fekir, Juanmi; Iglesias
Alaves possible starting lineup:
Pacheco; Aguirregabiria, Miazga, Rodriguez, Duarte; Jason, Moya, Garcia, Rioja; Joselu, De la Fuente
We say: Real Betis 2-0 Alaves
Alaves have shown recent improvement in the league, while Betis are without a victory in their last three, but the home team will have been boosted by their cup success over Sevilla, and we are expecting Pellegrini's side to collect all three points on Tuesday night.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Betis win with a probability of 59.51%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for Alaves had a probability of 17.88%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.06%) and 2-1 (9.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.74%), while for an Alaves win it was 0-1 (5.89%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Real Betis would win this match.
