The Spanish Copa del Rey finals bring one very interesting and unexpected clash, as Betis and Valencia square off at Estadio de La Cartuja in Sevilla. These two sides had a rocky path up until here, and they aren’t willing to slip at the last step. Betis is a slight favorite, mostly due to Valencia’s troubles with injuries, but that doesn’t have to mean anything. Especially because these two sides have a similar quality. Also, Valencia’s form has been a bit sluggish recently, but maybe they held everything for Saturday night.
Check BetXchange’s preview for this game and see our pick for the same.
Preview
Betis
Verdes haven’t been in the mood for scoring lately, as they didn’t net in the past 180 minutes. After a goalless draw in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad, they would lose at home to Elche in the most recent game three days ago, 0-1. It was quite a shocker for the hosts; we need to add.
Overall, Betis isn’t playing efficient games. To be honest, the majority of those with three or more goals they had this season were in Europe. In the last seven overall, five were with under 2.5 hits.
Recent road games were also inefficient. Three in four saw under 2.5 goals, and the same also finished with only one team netting. So that is obvious proof that Verdes tightened up the situation over the last month or so. As the season nears its end, the pressure is growing, and Betis plays more and more conservatively.
Valencia
It appears that the rumors about Roman Abramovich’s alleged interest in Valencia disturbed the chemistry in the locker room. The Bats are without a win in the past four games, playing two draws and, after that, adding back-to-back losses. This negative streak eliminated them from the battle for one of the spots leading to the European competitions.
Jose Bordalas’ crew has played inefficient games since February this year. Only three of the last ten have ended with over 2.5 goals. The Bats tend to play carefully and are always slowing down the tempo of the game, keeping the ball in their feet and stealing the time. This is even more obvious on the road, where Valencia’s last five games all ended with under 2.5 goals, while four concluded with only one team reaching the rival’s net.
Valencia has a few injured players who are important in their game, the first one Gabriel Paulista, then Guedes and Gomez. It will be hard for Bordalas to cover up their absence, but he has to find a way how to do it.
Head to Head Games
The first meeting of the season, the La Liga clash at Benito Villamarin in Sevilla, saw Betis’ massive win, 4-1. Borja Inglesias scored two goals to give his team a lead, but Gabriel Paulista cut the gap before the halftime.
Two quick goals in the second half, by Pezzella and Juanmi, shocked the guests, and Verdes took all three points.
Prediction
Even if it wasn’t a match for the trophy, we would expect to see one pretty cautious approach from both units. But since it carries a great significance, a historical, we may say, things are going to be even tighter. Neither side would want to fall back, which is why we expect to see an ultra-conservative approach from both coaches. Of course, our pick here is under 2.5 goals, and for those who are more courageous, we have a long shot, which would be the correct result, 0-0.
Pick: Under 2.5 goals 3/4 at BetXchange
