It’s been a long wait for football fans, but the eagerly anticipated return to action of the Spanish top flight is set to resume on Thursday night with the local derby clash between Sevilla and Real Betis at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
Prior to the lockdown, Sevilla had put together a promising four-match unbeaten run in La Liga which included wins against Getafe (3-0 away) and a 3-2 home win over Osasuna, while also picking up valuable points in draws with Espanyol and notably, a 2-2 draw on the road at Atletico Madrid.
❤🔙😱 @luis_fabuloso desató la locura del @SevillaFC en #ElGranDerbi... pic.twitter.com/YdUZJgzmE3— LaLiga (@LaLiga) June 8, 2020
❤🔙😱 @luis_fabuloso desató la locura del @SevillaFC en #ElGranDerbi... pic.twitter.com/YdUZJgzmE3
Indeed, Sevilla have suffered just one defeat out of their last seven matches overall in the Spanish top flight which came in the shape of a 2-1 loss on the road at Celta Vigo, but their form at home has been solid enough as they’ve lost just once in their last 11 matches at their Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
In addition, Sevilla have held the upper hand over Real Betis in recent times as the hosts have won the previous two encounters on the trot with 2-1 and 3-2 wins respectively.
Onto Real Betis then, and the visitors resume their La Liga season in 12th place which was courtesy of an impressive 2-1 home win over Real Madrid just before the lockdown was issued.
Unfortunately for them, Real Betis were unable to immediately build on that encouraging result.
Prior to the win over Real Madrid, Real Betis had previously endured a sticky six-match sequence without a win in the Spanish top flight which included defeats to Getafe, Barcelona and Valencia and although they’s also drawn with Eibar, Leganes and Mallorca, it meant that Real Betis had gained just three points from the possible 18 on offer.
The majority of Real Betis’s modest success so far in this season’s La Liga has been achieved on home turf at their Estadio Benito Villamarín where Betis have registered seven of their total of eight league wins so far this season, but results away from home have been far less convincing.
By contrast, Real Betis have managed to pick up just one away win all season and head into this local derby on the back of six matches without a win on their travels, so they may end up second best at Sevilla on Friday night.