Power battle in Heliopolis

Betis smiles more than ever at the gates of being measured against a Leverkusen that intends to prove the reliability of Manuel Pellegrini’s project (follow the game live on As.com). The Verdiblanco team is walking firmly in LaLiga and is now focusing its focus on trying to stay with the first place in its group in this Europa League. The German team has the same intentions, whose brilliant career this season was cut short last Sunday with that 1-5 given by Bayern Munich. Heliópolis wants to vibrate with this double chapter story that should end with one of the two teams in the round of 16 directly.

For Pellegrini, caution is a starting point. It will be even with a Benito Villamarín who will premiere that one hundred percent of allowed capacity and who wants to extend his dream under the notable direction of the Chilean. He multiplied the yields in his team until he reached this most demanding stake. In front of him he will have a Leverkusen turned into a candidate for everything with Gerardo Seoane as captain of his bench. The Swiss, son of Spanish emigrants, spent as a player for Deportivo de La Coruña before embarking on his career as a coach and conquering the heart of the German club after eliminating it from the last Europa League with Young Boys. They did not hesitate in Leverkusen. He came to captaining an offensive football that sometimes goes too brave.

Betis will rotate again. Not only because of the importance of the appointment, but because for Pellegrini there are no priorities. Pezzella, Miranda and Guido will return to the eleven, while Joaquín and Juanmi aspire to a place in three quarters, although there are tricks like Rodri who are going through a great moment. Borja Iglesias, decisive in his appearance in Vitoria on Monday, will be the nine. Many focuses will be on the possible premiere of Diego Lainez, while Tello was left out of Pellegrini’s plan for this duel. Fekir, as usual, will direct the magic.

Leverkusen arrives with doubts after their fall in Munich and under the questions of which pieces can give balance to the team from a spinal cord affected by Aranguiz’s injury. Jonathan Tah commands behind and in attack an 18-year-old boy named Florian Wirtz shines, who has six goals and six assists in just over 600 minutes and whose market value exceeds 60 million. There is dominance of areas in a Leverkusen that will not fear the back and forth on the Villamarín pitch. How far can this Betis go? Even Pellegrini himself wants answers.