MADRID, 5 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Betis and Valencia, brand new semifinalists of the Copa del Rey, will try to take advantage of this Sunday at the Benito Villamarín (6:30 p.m.) and in Mestalla (2:00 p.m.) the emotional rush of their classification for the next round on the twenty-third day of LaLiga Santander against Villarreal and Real Sociedad, respectively.
Manuel Pellegrini’s team (40), third-placed ten points behind the lead, managed to overwhelm Real Sociedad in the Reale Arena in the quarterfinals (0-4) and sign their fifth victory in the last six games in all competitions, four of them followed.
In the domestic competition, the Verdiblanco team forgot the defeats against Athletic Club and RC Celta and the draw against Rayo Vallecano, beating Deportivo Alavés (4-0) and RCD Espanyol (1-4), results that, together with Cup they keep him three games in a row scoring at least four goals.
Before facing their first duel of the Copa del Rey tie against Rayo in Vallecas next week, the Betis host Villarreal, a match in which they will not have the injured Martín Montoya and Claudio Bravo but in which they will entrust themselves to the good condition of form of Juanmi, who has accumulated 12 goals in LaLiga, and Borja Iglesias, who has scored four goals in the last three games.
Meanwhile, Villarreal hopes to confirm the end of their slump, which kept them three games without winning -including the elimination from the ‘ko’ tournament against Real Sporting- and which seems to have broken with their victory against RCD Mallorca (3 -0).
Unai Emery’s men are seventh (32) two points from the European zone, who will try to attack without men like Boulaye Dia, Francis Coquelin and Rubén Peña and with the doubt of their leading scorer, Gerard Moreno, who hastens his recovery from a soleus injury.
For its part, the Mestalla, an excited Valencia returns to LaLiga Santander after tying its pass to the Copa del Rey semis, a tournament that was denied to its rival this Sunday, Real Sociedad, victim of the Betic team.
José Bodalás’ men eliminated Cádiz (2-1) and next week they will live a morbid first duel with Marcelino García Toral’s Athletic Club -the last coach capable of lifting a title with the ‘che’ team, the 2019 Cup- , but first they will have to try to straighten the course in the domestic competition.
Without Gabriel Paulista or Jasper Cillessen and with the doubts of Omar Alderete and Koba Koindredi, the Valencianists want to leave behind four dates without winning, the draw against Sevilla (1-1) and the defeats against Espanyol (1-2), Real Madrid (4-1) and Atlético (3-2), which place them tenth (29).
The ‘txuri urdin’, who came to lead the competition, occupy the last of the continental places (34) with two leads over the first of the applicants, after winning only one of their last eight league games.
Carlos Fernández, Nacho Monreal and Ander Barrenetxea will be the absences for Imanol Alguacil’s team, who before the elimination against Betis had not gone beyond the draw (0-0) against Getafe in the previous league matchday.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM IN LALIGA SANTANDER.
Valencia – Royal Society. Sánchez Martínez (C.Murciano) 14:00.
FC Barcelona – Atletico Madrid. Gil Manzano (C.Extremeño) 16:15.
Real Betis-Villarreal. González Fuertes (C.Asturiano) 18:30.
Real Madrid – Grenada. Mateu Lahoz (C.Valenciano) 21:00.