Betis take on the visitors Braga in the second leg of UEFA Europa League quarterfinals. First leg result: 1-1. The match will be played on Thursday, April 16th at Estadio de La Cartuja (Sevilla).
Betis under Manuel Pellegrini have won only one trophy — the Copa del Rey — but they have also reached the UEFA Europa Conference League final last year, where they were outclassed by Chelsea FC. Most importantly, Pellegrini consistently delivers solid and respectable results, both in European competitions and domestically. Their recent form has also been quite convincing, with the team picking up important points and looking confident in key fixtures. Even when they drop points, they tend to respond quickly, which keeps them firmly in the race for higher positions. Last season, they managed to finish 6th in La Liga, and now they are fighting to climb one step higher and challenge for a place in the UEFA Champions League. There have been some slip-ups, but their rivals have also lacked consistency. In the UEFA Europa League, the Spaniards performed well in the main round, recording 5 wins and 17 points. In March, they first suffered a narrow defeat to Panathinaikos, but at home they thrashed the Greek side 4–0.
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Braga are trying to deliver strong results. “The Archbishops” occasionally challenge the giants, but they are generally seen as the fourth force in Portuguese football. Recently, their performances have been fairly stable, allowing them to maintain a comfortable gap over chasing teams. At the same time, they still lack the consistency required to compete with the top three over the long run. That was once again the case last season, and now they are gradually pulling away from FC Famalicão, while the top three are already far ahead by around twenty points. In the Europa League, the Portuguese side nearly stumbled at the very start, needing extra time in the return leg at home to score the only goal against Levski Sofia. After that, they comfortably passed the main round (5 wins and one defeat), but then lost 0–2 in Budapest in the first leg of the round of 16. Fortunately, at home they managed to regroup and beat the Hungarians convincingly 4–0. Against the Spaniards last week, even on their own pitch, they could only manage a draw.
The clubs are meeting for the first time in official competition — previously, in 2013 and 2018, they only faced each other in friendly matches. The Spaniards have had some issues recently. But if they managed not to lose away to “The Archbishops,” then at home they should finish the job — backing Betis to win in regular time looks like the right option.
Prediction for the match: Betis to win.
