Betis vs Bayer Leverkusen Preview:
Possible starting lineups:
Betis:
Silva; Bellerin, Bartra, Gonzalez, Moreno; Guardado, Carvalho; Joaquin, Fekir, Canales; Iglesias
Bayer Leverkusen:
Hradecky; Frimpong, Kossounou, Tah, Bakker; Andrich, Demirbay; Diaby, Wirtz, Paulinho; Schick
Betis welcome Bayer Leverkusen in the most interesting fixture of the third round of Europa League at the Stadium Benito Villamarin. Both teams have two wins in the first two rounds and they look to maintain their 100% start. Betis managed to beat Celtic 4:3 in the first round. Juanmi was the key name on that match as he scored a brace, while Juan Miranda and Bruno Iglesias contributed Betis' other goals. But one other player should also be mentioned - the captain Joaquin. With 40 years and 57 days, he became the second oldest outfield player to start a Europa League game, after Francesco Totti for Roma. The Spanish side are unbeaten in all seven of their home Europa League group stage games, winning four of them and drawing the remaining three. But they are good as guests too. Betis managed to beat Ferencvaros with 3:1 in the second match of the group. Nabil Fekir and Cristian Tello were the scorers, plus an own-goal. For this match right-back Youssouf Sabaly is out due to a hamstring injury, while centre-back Victor Ruiz is rated as doubtful.
Bayer Leverkusen also have six points after the first two rounds. First they beat Ferencvaros with 2:1. Ryan Mmaee netted an early goal for the Hungary outfit after just eight minutes, but Palacios scored a leveler before the halftime. It was the teenager Florian Wirtz who completed the comeback in the 69th minute. The victory was deserved, but very hard. It was much better in the second round when they beat Celtic with 4:0 in Glasgow. A promising Celtic start was undone by a string of defensive mistakes. Leverkusen ruthlessly punished their hosts to take victory in the match. Piero Hincapie opened the result, while Florian Wirtz chipped the ball over Joe Hart to make it 2:0. That was the result after the first half. Celtic started furiously in the second, but Lucas Hilario's penalty killed their momentum before substitute Amine Adli smashed in a fourth with the last kick. Goalkeeper Hradecky should also be mentioned as he made six saves, every one of them special. The guests are handicapped for the trip to Spain as Charles Aranguiz, Julian Baumgartlinger and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are sidelined with injuries, while Exequiel Palacios is ruled out due to illness. Teenage starlet Florian Wirtz, who has scored two goals on the previous two matches in the group, is expected to start behind lone striker Patrik Schick.
Betis vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction:
I expect an efficient match as both teams are attacking oriented. Betis have scored seven goals on the first two matches in the group, while Leverkusen six. The attitude of the Germans is very interesting - none of Bayer's last 21 matches in European competition have been drawn. They won 13 and lost eight games. Their matches are usually efficient, so I think there will be at least three.
Betis vs Bayer Leverkusen Pick: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.67 with 10bet