MADRID, 13 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Betis and Villarreal play this Thursday against Rangers and Stade Rennes, respectively, for the leadership of their groups on the last day of the initial phase of the Europa League, a position that would classify them directly to the round of 16 of the competition, while that if they finished second they would have to play a play-off to access said round against a team from the Champions League.
Real Betis receives Rangers at the Benito Villamarín (9:00 p.m.) with first place in Group C at stake. The Andalusians have an advantage to achieve this, since they play at home and are the current leaders with 9 points, leading Rangers by 1 and Sparta Prague by 2, so a draw would be enough for them to maintain first position, unless they win by 3 or more goals.
A very valuable first place because it would exempt Manuel Pellegrini's team from playing the round of 32 against a Champions League rival, in addition to allowing them to play the second leg of the round of 16 in front of their home crowd. To do this, the Seville team will try to regain victory after winning only one of the last three games they have played. In fact, if they achieve this, they will achieve full victories in front of their fans in the group stage, after previously beating Aris Limassol and Sparta Prague.
Finally, there is a possible scenario that could end with Real Betis eliminated and ending up in the Conference League. This would happen if the green and white team were defeated by Rangers and Sparta Prague beat Aris Limassol at home. In this case it would be the Scots who would access the round of 16 as group winners while the Czech team would qualify as second place.
Their rival, Rangers, arrives with a good dynamic of results. The Scots, who already beat the green and white in the first leg (1-0), have gone 13 games without losing in all competitions, winning the last three they have played. Of course, their European journey away from home is not so satisfactory, adding just one point out of the possible six they have played. In addition, they have gone 7 European visits without winning, having won only 1 of their last 12 European games away from the Ibrox Stadium.
In terms of sports, Pellegrini will not be able to count on Guido Rodríguez, injured for a long time, or Nabil Fekir, injured in his hip. In addition, the usual rotations of the Chilean coach in European competition are expected to refresh the squad in a stretch of the season loaded with matches. Therefore, players like Diao, Borja Iglesias or Luiz Enrique could be in a starting eleven that includes important figures like Isco or Marc Roca.
For its part, Villarreal visits Stade Rennes (18.45) with the sole objective of returning to Vila-Real with first place in Group F. To achieve this, the only thing that counts for the 'groguet' team is victory on French soil, something they have only achieved on one occasion in the 4 times they have faced French teams in European competition (0-3 against Troyes in Intertoto (2002)).
Marcelino García Toral's men, who have just lost their first match against Real Sociedad since the arrival of the Asturian coach a month ago, will face a Rennes in trouble. Julien Stephan's men have fallen to 13th position in Ligue 1 after losing 3 of the last 4 games in the domestic competition, although in the Europa League they have won their last three games. In addition, the French team has not lost in Europe at home since 2020, going 11 consecutive games unbeaten since then.
In terms of sports, Villarreal will not be able to count on the Córdoba full-back Alfonso Pedraza, who is in a yellow cycle, nor with Comesaña, who continues to be injured in his ankle, so Altamira could once again be a starter at left back, while Capoue and Parejo point to the double pivot. The good news for Marcelino is that he will be able to count on Alberto Moreno, who has already recovered from his abductor ailments.