Copa Del Rey R16: Seville Derby (Betis vs Sevilla)

With all the premier domestic top-flight competitions going in full swing all around the world, it’s that time of the year where we get to witness the rivalry between the top-tier and lower division clubs. Different competitions such as Copa del Rey, FA Cup, DFP Pokal Cup, Coppa Italia, etc are those leagues whose knockouts start from this part of the year and continue forward involving the big teams from now on who automatically qualify for it.

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In one such game, RealBetis are welcoming Sevilla at the Estadio-Benito-Villamarin to play their decisive round-of-16 clash in CopaDelRey tomorrow. Both teams have eased past their round of 32 opponents last week in this cup competition. Sevilla hammered Zaragoza 2-0 while their same city rivals Betis thumped Valladolid for three-nil.

Let’s see if Seville gets painted red-and-white or it turns green-and-white after the game on Sunday?

WHY TO WATCH OUT FOR

The Seville Derby started way back in 1915 with their first inter-city game held on February 8, 1915. The close-cut entertaining game resulted in a 4-3 win for Sevilla. After that, there have been over a hundred meetings between these two arch-rivals. Sometimes the city has been marred by violence on account of the fight between the same-city rival fans while on other occasions, it has witnessed some fascinating and charming football from both the teams. So, there is certainly no reason that you shouldn’t watch one of the most-heated derbies of recent times.

This rivalry has gifted us all, from nerve-cracking last-minute winning goals to some of the best last-minute goal-line saves. We can never ever predict the outcome of this game prematurely. The team which manages to hold their nerves till the last moment in a full-packed stadium is the one that wins it eventually. In various instances, we have seen the most favorite team to win the encounter perishing at the last moment. It’s better to go out and watch such action-packed cup matches than to have a self-made prediction going wrong in last.

We bet that you are gonna witness really adrenaline-secreting moments in the match. With full-of-upsets happening all around in these cup games, we expect to have yet another nail-biting finish this time too. The match is scheduled to get kicked off at 2:00 AM IST or 21:30 CET.

SEVILLA

The Los Palanganas are traveling to the other part of Seville on the back of a cagey 1-0 win over giant-killers Getafe last weekend. Lopetegui’s men found it really hard to get past the lowly placed Getafe in match day 19 of the LaLiga. Rafa Mir’s only goal as early as in the 22nd minute proved to be the decisive one in the match. The home side only managed to register a single shot on target during the course of the match. Though they kept much of the possession(67%) they failed to create enough chances for the attackers to score. Getafe put up a solid show defensively on board for the 2nd consecutive match after beating Madrid previously.

Sevilla really needs to fix their scoring issues if they are to compete for the elusive titles. On the opposite side, their defense is outstanding and has conceded the lowest goals in the league(13). in the last five games across all competitions, they have won four and drawn one. They are in fact in a seven-match unbeaten run stretching from the 9th of December. It remains to be seen whether they can topple their arch-rivals Betis tomorrow and advance further in the Copa del Rey.

FORM GUIDE – WDWWW (ALL COMPETITIONS); WWDWW (LA LIGA)

TEAM NEWS

INJURED – Suso (ankle), Erik Lamela (shoulder), Thomas Delaney (muscular)

DOUBTFUL – Jules Kounde

UNAVAILABLE due to AFCON – Munir El-Haddadi, Youssef En-Nessyri, Yassine Bounou

PREDICTED LINEUPS

Formation : 4-3-3

GK: Dmitrovic

Defense: Montiel, Kounde ,Carlos ,Acuna

Midfield: Rakitic, Ferrando, Jordan

Attack: Gomez , Rafa Mir , Ocampos

PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

LUCAS OCAMPOS

The Argentinian playmaker has been in superb form for the Los Verdiblancos this year contributing in every aspect. Be it creating the play or scoring goals or back-tracking to help the defense, he has done everything aptly. His runs down the left flank are a sure treat for the opposition. His pinpoint passing and crossing accuracy also help the strikers to find a lot of chances going their way. He has already registered 7 goals and 4 assists to his name in 24 appearances. In a derby game like against Betis, Lopetegui needs his star-man to break Betis’ defense tonight with his skillful display.

IVAN RAKITIC

The ageless former Barcelona veteran is enjoying an excellent run at the club from where he started in LaLiga. He has proved out to be a vital cog in Sevilla’s midfield where he controls the game fully. From building up the play from the back to defending in between the channels, the Croatian has starred everywhere. No wonder he is one of the main reasons why Sevilla gets to retain possession of the ball so much. His 4 goals and 4 assists are quite decent being a midfielder. Everyone knows he is the player for big matches and he would be eager to prove his worth once again tomorrow.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Seville derbies are among one of the oldest derbies of Spain as well as the world. It has a long history of being one of the most enticing too. The El Gran Derbi has occurred 135 times to date. Sevilla clearly leads in the face-to-face statistics with a record of 64 wins out of the total. Betis have also won it a handsome 39 no. of times. Thirty-two games failed to yield any result.

In the most recent meeting between the two sides, a Marcos Acuna strike and a Bellerin own-goal led Sevilla to win. Guido Rodriguez was out in the first half itself after seeing a red card. Betis would seek revenge this time facing Sevilla at the very same ground again.

Pellegrini vs Lopetegui : Copa Del Rey R16 CLASH — Pellegrini vs Lopetegui

REAL BETIS

The Los Verdiblancos are coming onto this match after playing out a frustrating draw against 7^th placed Rayo Vallecano last-gameweek. They played most of the game with 10men after Alex Moreno was shown a straight red in the 33^rd minute. Still, they showed up an impressive fight against Vallecano and managed to keep the game to a draw. Sergio Canales scored in the dying minutes of the first half only to be canceled out by Balliu in the 70thmin. Vallecano, eventually, was the superior side in everything, from possession to shots-taken as well as dominated the match fully. Betis’ frontline couldn’t pose any real threat to Vallecano’s defense.

In fact, also, it was because of a defensive error that they conceded the equalizer. They are the side to have conceded the most goals in the league after Valencia and Mallorca in the top 15. Seriously, Pellegrini needs to fix his defensive issues if they are to defeat the big teams. In the last five games in La Liga, they have only won two and lost the same no. of games. Surely it would be an even-stevens spread out in the clash against Sevilla.