Real Betis to Start New Season with a Win
The 2018/19 La Liga season starts on Friday night with two matches. The latter of the two games sees Real Betis welcome Levante to the Estadio Benito Villamarin.
Real Betis enjoyed a good 2017/18 campaign, finishing 6th in the table above teams including Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and local rivals, Sevilla. As a result, Real Betis will compete in the group stages of the Europa League this season and will want to get as many La Liga points on the board as early as possible.
Levante finished 15th last season but were well clear of the relegation zone. They recorded eleven wins and won 46 points, which was 17 points more than 17th place Deportivo La Coruna.
Real Betis have had a long but good preseason. They have played a total of eight matches and remained undefeated. There have been wins over Nottingham Forest, Marseille, Bournemouth, Cardiff City, Frosinone and Las Palmas.
Trends show Real Betis finished last season strongly and lost only two of their final eleven league games. Both defeats came away from home and Real Betis are undefeated in their last six home La Liga games, winning four of the last five.
One of the key aspects to Real Betis’ good end of season form at the Estadio Benito Villamarin was their defence. They kept four clean sheets in their last six home league games and kept a clean sheet in their final friendly of preseason at home against Las Palmas.
Levante had a tough start to their preseason, losing friendly matches to Bournemouth, Zwolle and Feyenoord. However, their form improved as the preseason developed and Levante remained undefeated in their final four fixtures, winning one of them and drawing three.
Trends show Levante had a very strong finish to their 2017/18 La Liga campaign. They lost just one of their final six games, winning five of them. There were good wins against Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and Barcelona.
Away from home, Levante have won only three of their last fourteen La Liga games but have lost only two of their last six. However, Levante do not have a great record against Real Betis and have failed to defeat them in their previous eight attempts.
Team news and Real Betis have doubts over the fitness of experienced winger Joaquin who has been struggling with a calf injury. Both Javi Garcia and Cristian Tello have been on the treatment table and are unlikely to play.
Levante will be without defender Erick Cabaco who is suspended. Armando Sadiku has a long term knee injury while Emmanuel Boateng, Esteban Saveljich and Ivan Lopez are struggling to make the game.
Real Betis have won each of the last five meetings between the teams and start this match as the clear favourites. With home advantage, Real Betis should get their new season off to the perfect start and could keep a clean sheet in addition to winning maximum points.
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