Clash of styles with thirst for title
Real Betis and Valencia meet at La Cartuja for their third and ninth Cup, respectively
MADRID, 22 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Betis and Valencia meet this Saturday at La Cartuja de Sevilla (10:00 p.m./Telecinco/DAZN) for the trophy for the 118th edition of the Copa del Rey, a match in which the Verdiblancos could pave the way for a memorable season with the achievement of its third cupbearer and in which the ‘che’ team, eight times champion of the tournament, longs to conquer it and cling to its only access door to continental competition.
In the fifth final at the Seville venue, the third in a row, the Andalusian capital will once again imbue itself with the atmosphere of the Cup to crown the new champion, who will take over from FC Barcelona. Beticos and Valencianistas had never met for the title in the ‘ko tournament’, and now they will have the opportunity to add one more award to their showcases in a clash of styles.
Manuel Pellegrini’s men will try to cling to their clear commitment to possession football, without giving up their usual drawing, and José Bordalás will once again be the guarantor of a more direct and intense game to try to give the Valencian entity its ninth cup title.
On two occasions the Verdiblanco team has lifted the trophy, the first of them in 1977, in the first edition under the name of Copa del Rey and after surprising Athletic Club on penalties at the Vicente Calderón (2-2, 8-7 in the batch). He also won the second in the disappeared rojiblanco stadium, in 2005 against Osasuna; goals from Ricardo Oliveira and John Aloisi took the match to extra time, but another goal from Dani in the 115th minute allowed the team then led by Lorenzo Serra Ferrer to be crowned champions.
Seventeen years later, only Joaquín Sánchez ‘survives’ of that team that aspires this Saturday to conquer again, just seven kilometers from Benito Villamarín, the Cup in its fifth final, after the losses in 1931 against Athletic in Chamartín and in 1997 against Barça at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Pellegrini’s men, who could lift their first title since the 2016 FA Cup with Manchester City, have focused all their enthusiasm on this Saturday’s duel, which has made them lose the opportunity to stalk the ‘Champions’ positions. The draw against Real Sociedad (0-0) and the defeat against Elche (0-1) leave him fifth, four points from his goal, all despite the setbacks of the last days of Barça, Seville and Atlético de Madrid .
With the only absences of the injured Martín Montoya and Víctor Camarasa, the Chilean coach will foreseeably give continuity in the tournament to his compatriot Claudio Bravo in goal, just behind the pair of central defenders formed by Marc Bartra and Germán Pezzella and with Héctor Bellerín and Alex Moreno on the wings.
Guido Rodríguez and William Carvalho will be in charge of supporting the structure of the ‘Engineer’ and Nabil Fekir, Sergio Canales and the team’s scorer, Juanmi Jiménez will be responsible for the most creative part and for supplying balls to the man of reference above and author of the goal of the pass to the final against Rayo, Borja Iglesias.
Opposite, Valencia returns to Seville, where he won his last Cup against Barcelona at the Benito Villamarín, with the desire to continue his idyll with a competition in which he has won his last three finals played (1999, 2008 and 2019).
Feeling the support of 20,000 Valencianistas, the team returns 23 years later to La Cartuja, the scene where Gaizka Mendieta scored that ‘really incredible’ goal reflected in the Los Planetas song and which confirmed the thrashing against Atlético de Madrid in the 1999 final after the double by Claudio ‘Piojo’ López (3-0).
After linking four days of LaLiga without winning, with draws against Cádiz (0-0) and Rayo (1-1) and defeats against Osasuna (1-2) and Villarreal (2-0), José Bordalás’s team face perhaps his most important commitment of the season, which is almost certainly his only chance to play in Europe next season.
Tenth in the table, 13 points behind the continental zone, the ‘che’ team would seal its presence in the Europa League if it is capable of winning its ninth Cup, which could be the second for up to six players who already won it in 2019. The only It will certainly be that of Gabriel Paulista, who will be tested before the final to find out if he has already overcome his muscular discomfort.
If the Brazilian is fit, he will form alongside Mouctar Diakhaby and Omar Alderete in Bordalás’ three central defenders, with Thierry Correia and José Luis Gayà on the wings. Carlos Soler and Hugo Guillamón will be in the engine room and the danger will be in the hands of Bryan Gil, Gonçalo Guedes and Hugo Duro, who has scored his last two goals in this tournament.
DATASHEET.
–POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
REAL BETIS: Well done; Bellerín, Bartra, Pezzella, Álex Moreno; Guido Rodriguez, William Carvalho; Channels, Fekir, Juanmi; and Borja Iglesias.
VALENCIA: Mamardashvili; Thierry Correia, Gabriel Paulista, Diakhaby, Alderete, Gayà; Carlos Soler, Guillamón, Bryan Gil; Guedes and Hugo Duro.
–REFEREE: Hernández Hernández (C.Las Palmas).
–STADIUM: La Cartuja.
–TIME: 10:00 p.m./Telecinco/DAZN.