MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 35th day of LaLiga Santander is shaping up the closing of the domestic championship and this Sunday comes with a more than interesting Sevillian derby at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, with a hot preview due to an incendiary banner and with a lot of sporting interest and European flavor, while Rayo Vallecano receives an RCD Espanyol that is playing for permanence.
At the Sánchez-Pizjuán, at 9:00 p.m., Sevilla receives a euphoric reception after getting into their seventh Europa League final against a Real Betis who is sixth and who knows that they must stop their neighbor to prevent him from continuing to come back and complicate him, By the way, your next continental adventure.
All this in an atmosphere heated by what happened this Saturday in Seville, with a banner placed by the Betic fans with the motto ‘Sevilla hates Nervión’ and a doll hanging with the shirt of the Sevilla player Joan Jordán. An act repudiated and denounced by LaLiga and that, for the good of football, it is expected that it will not go any further.
A provocation that must be left behind, because Real Betis has its best weapons on the pitch, in its players, and also in a Manuel Pellegrini who will experience a beautiful bench duel with a José Luis Mendilibar who has hit the key they couldn’t find Sampaoli or Lopetegui.
Sevilla will fight shortly for their seventh Europa League title, after eliminating Juventus, but the truth is that they are coming back in the league and have 47 points, being tenth at the moment, only 8 points behind Real Betis who He started the day sixth.
The people from Seville come from winning five of the last six games in LaLiga Santander and now they want to continue the streak to get closer to their neighbor and rival, who would worry them as well as, of course, leave them in trouble in their fight not to let the ‘Champions’ escape. ‘ and retain, at least, their position in the Europa League. This without taking into account that Sevilla, if they win that final, would not need the league place.
But a derby is always a derby and nobody is going to give anything away. Neither did Real Betis, who has also beaten Rayo Vallecano and Athletic Club to believe in their chances, with Borja Iglesias once again plugged in in front of goal. So a hot derby is expected, yes, but also even and high-flying between two teams in shape.
Earlier, in Vallecas (2:00 p.m.), Rayo Vallecano will receive RCD Espanyol in a match with a lot at stake, even if it is only on the ‘perico’ side. The people of Madrid are in the quiet area of the table and hardly anything is at stake, but the Cornellà-El Prat team is risking their lives.
The blue and whites lost in three of the last four games, including last day’s derby at home against FC Barcelona (2-4), with the added bonus of seeing the rival celebrate the LaLiga Santander title at the RCDE Stadium –and the subsequent embarrassment with the invasion of the countryside by some radical ‘parrots’–.
But those of Luis García must leave that behind if they want to continue dreaming of permanence. Now they have 31 points and are 4 from salvation, compared to a Valladolid team that has already played and lost on this day, with 12 still at stake. There is hope, although stumbling in Vallecas against an eleventh Rayo, that if he wins he can re-engage in bigger (continental) fights could be decisive.
— SCHEDULE ON SUNDAY ON MATCHDAY 35 OF LALIGA SANTANDER.
Rayo Vallecano – Spanish. Hernandez Hernandez (C.The Palms)
Atletico Madrid – Osasuna. González Fuertes (C.Asturiano) 16.15.
Valencia – Real Madrid. From Burgos Bengoetxea (C.Vasco) 18.30.
Seville – Real Betis. Gil Manzano (C. Extremeño) 21.00.