For the third time in four seasons, Manuel Pellegrini’s Betis opened a new La Liga tournament with a victory, and for the second time in twelve recent trips to Valencia, they secured an away win against Villarreal. Ironically, they could do the same this weekend if they manage to shock Atletico Madrid, a team they have only beaten once in their last 23 competitive matches across all tournaments. Moreover, just last week, Pellegrini expressed concerns about the lack of resources to replace departures like Joaquin and Sergio Canales. Today, Carvalho and Fekir are sidelined due to a knee injury.
The advantage for the guests lies in Diego Simeone’s personal record against the opponent and the new energy from Atletico’s success in the first round, which marked their fifth consecutive opening victory in the tournament. Perhaps the most ominous fact is that they were the only La Liga team in the first round to score more than two goals, allowing them to finish the initial round at the top of the table. However, their captain, Koke, who left the field with an injury after a few minutes, slightly dampened their success. Today, Iturbe, Molina, Mandava, Koke, Gimenez, and Correa, who has an ankle injury, won’t be able to take the field. More todays football predictions can be obtained from the link provided.
