Preview: Huesca vs. Real Betis - prediction, team news, lineups

Huesca will be looking for just their second La Liga victory of the season when they welcome Real Betis to Estadio El Alcoraz on Monday night.

The home side are currently bottom of the table, having picked up just 12 points from their 17 matches this season, while Betis have collected 20 points from their 17 fixtures to sit 11th.

Match preview

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Huesca's position at the bottom of the table is far from disastrous as they are only four points behind 17th-placed Valencia but their lack of wins this season is a concern.

Indeed, the strugglers have only picked up one victory from their 17 matches and have scored just 14 times, which is certainly relegation form at this stage of the campaign.

Huesca have lost their last two in the league against Celta Vigo and Barcelona, while they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday night courtesy of a 2-1 loss to Segunda Division B side Alcoyano.

Michel 's side, who won the Segunda Division last season, can take encouragement from their performance against Barca last weekend, though, having only lost 1-0 to Ronald Koeman 's side, with Frenkie de Jong 's first-half effort proving to be the difference between the two teams.

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Betis, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 3-1 win at Mutilvera in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, which saw them advance to the third round of the competition.

Manuel Pellegrini 's side picked up a point in the Seville derby with Sevilla last weekend, with Sergio Canales scoring from the penalty spot in the second period, but the Green and Whites have only been victorious in one of their last five La Liga matches, with the win coming at home to Cadiz on December 23.

A record of six wins, two draws and nine defeats has brought Betis 20 points, leaving them in 11th position in the table. The Seville outfit are actually only four points off the top seven, which is a surprise considering that they have lost more matches in La Liga this season than any other side.

Los Verdiblancos have won three and lost six of their nine league matches on their travels this term, and it remains to be seen whether they have the consistency required to push for a top-half finish in 2020-21.

Huesca La Liga form: DWLDLL

Huesca form (all competitions): WLDLLL

Real Betis La Liga form: WDLWLD

Real Betis form (all competitions): WLWLDW

Team News

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Huesca will be without the services of Pablo Maffeo through injury, while Borja Garcia and Sandro Ramirez are both doubts for Monday's contest.

Rafa Mir is expected to get the nod over Shinji Okazaki to lead the home side's attack, while Javi Ontiveros and David Ferreiro are likely to operate in the wide positions.

There could be a change at the back, though, with Pedro Lopez potentially replacing Jorge Pulido, allowing Pablo Insua to retain his spot in the middle of the defence.

Betis still have a number of players absent, with Alex Moreno, Martin Montoya, Joaquin and Andres Guardado unavailable due to coronavirus, while Victor Camarasa, William Carvalho and Dani Martin are injured.

Guido Rodriguez is also out through suspension, while Marc Bartra and Cristian Tello are fitness doubts, meaning that Pellegrini does not have many options to choose from.

Paul Akouokou and Diego Lainez should earn spots in the starting side, while Loren Moron could again get the nod over Antonio Sanabria and Borja Iglesias in the final third of the field.

Huesca possible starting lineup:

Fernandez; Lopez, Insua, Siovas, Galan; Rico, Mosquera; Ferreiro, Garcia, Ontiveros; Mir

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Bravo; Emerson, Mandi, Ruiz, Miranda; Canales, Akouokou; Ruibal, Fekir, Lainez; Moron

We say: Huesca 1-1 Real Betis

Huesca have been the draw specialists in La Liga this season, sharing the points in nine of their 17 fixtures. Betis will be eyeing their seventh league win of the campaign, but the visitors will be missing a number of key players once again, and we are finding it hard to separate the sides here.

Top betting tip

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