If all the common places that footballers go to explain many of the things that happen in their profession have some truth, the professionals of the Real Today they have the mother of all revenges. The one that, fortunately, they say, football always offers after a great disappointment. Saturday in Anoeta before him Betis was one of those that is not easily forgotten and, therefore, having only 72 hours after the opportunity to play against the same rival encloses, in itself, all the content of the topic to which the players allude when they say after losing that what they would like to play as soon as possible again. In this case, in addition, the rematch has final battle overtones: only one can remain, which will be the one that advances to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Three games from another final.
Real and Betis will fight today at Benito Villamarín (9:00 p.m., DAZN) their third and final duel of the season. Until the 85th minute of Saturday's match in Anoeta, the Txuri Urdin had been indisputably superior to the Verdiblancos. They thrashed them in their stadium in the League and they had to thrash them in Anoeta. A terrible exercise, a mixture of naivety and irresponsibility, allowed Betis to return alive on Saturday to Seville, although as he admitted Channels in his post-match statements, with the deep concern of
face to the party of tonight to know themselves inferior to the Real one.
Gifts such as those from the last match are today prohibited on Avenida de la Palmera since they will be paid with the farewell to the competition that gave the most joy last season, in which Imanol He still does not know defeat and in which the club has high hopes of greening its laurels. “Let's see if we play two finals in April,” the president said on Sunday. Aperribay. In that case it would repeat the milestone achieved 33 years ago with the consecutive finals in 1987 and 1988.
Carlos is for 20 minutes
To advance in the competition and be among the eight best teams, we will have to forget the cowardly version of the last 15 minutes of Saturday and get closer to the team that passed over Betis in the match of the first round and in the first 25 minutes of the second part in Anoeta. Competing at the highest level, something that the Real has shown to know how to do unquestionably, especially in this type of life or death duels. For it Imanol He did not book anyone and will travel to Seville today with his best troops, including a Charles
Fernandez whom the coach sees to play 20 minutes. Only the injured will stay on the ground Moya, Sangalli and Silva, in addition to the discarded Aihen, Robert
Lopez, Baptist and Sagnan.
Imanol It will therefore present a 'eleven' of full guarantees, although it will make some modification with respect to the alignment of three days ago. Zaldua and Elustondo they have all the signs of entering the defense and Zubimendi would take the place of Guevara in the spinal cord. From there, fewer modifications are expected, although it would not be strange if, after harshly criticizing him yesterday, the coach gave Januzaj the opportunity to prove him wrong.
At Betis, who will continue without the injured Bartra, Guido, Ruibal and Bravo, Pellegrini also ruled out Loren and Miranda, headlines in Anoeta. Although to date the Chilean coach had used the Cup to give minutes to the less usual, the entity of the game and what is at stake makes it unlikely that, even if it does some rotation, important pieces such as Channels, Emerson, Alex
Brown or Victor
Ruiz don't play against the Real. And it is that today the final battle is fought in Seville. And there can only be one left.