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

Real Betis will be looking to recover from back-to-back La Liga defeats when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Valencia on Saturday night.

The Seville outfit have picked up six points from their first four matches of the season to sit fifth in the table, while Valencia have collected seven points from their opening four encounters to occupy second spot.

Match preview

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Valencia have made an encouraging start to the season considering that their summer transfer business has seen them sell a number of key players and fail to make a first-team signing at this stage.

New players are expected to arrive at the Mestalla before Monday's deadline, with Watford's Etienne Capoue, Tottenham Hotspur's Juan Foyth and Chelsea's Danny Drinkwater allegedly being considered.

It is going to be difficult for Los Che to push for a European finish this season, but they have made a solid start to the campaign, picking up seven points from their four matches to sit second in the table.

Javi Gracia 's side will enter this game off the back of an impressive 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad, meanwhile, with Maxi Gomez deciding Tuesday's contest courtesy of a 75th-minute goal.

Valencia actually finished ninth in Spain's top flight last season, meaning that they can fully focus on La Liga in 2020-21 due to the lack of European football at the Mestalla.

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Betis, meanwhile, made an impressive start to their campaign, picking up maximum points from their first two matches against Alaves and Real Valladolid to sit top of the table.

Manuel Pellegrini 's side have lost their last two, though, suffering a 3-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid on September 26 before being on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline at Getafe on Tuesday night.

Betis actually finished 15th in La Liga last season, but it is worth remembering that they claimed sixth in 2017-18 and certainly have the quality to push higher up the table this term.

The omens are not exactly fantastic for the Seville club, though, as they have only won one of their last seven La Liga encounters with Valencia and lost 2-1 in the corresponding match last season.

Valencia La Liga form: WLDW

Real Betis La Liga form: WWLL

Team News

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Valencia still have problems in central defence, with Gabriel Paulista and Eliaquim Mangala remaining unavailable for selection, while Denis Cheryshev and Carlos Soler could also again miss out.

Jasper Cillessen is fit again, but the Netherlands international might have to accept a spot on the bench once again as Jaume Domenech is currently in charge of the gloves.

Kevin Gameiro could earn a start alongside Gomez in the final third, while Daniel Wass is likely to continue in central midfield, with Thierry Correia keeping his spot at right-back.

As for Betis, Emerson is available after serving a one-game suspension against Getafe, but Francis Guerrero, Dani Martin and Victor Camarasa remain on the sidelines through injury, while Aissa Mandi will serve a ban due to the red card that he picked up in the Spanish capital.

Claudio Bravo and Andres Guardado are also again both doubts, although there is a chance that the former, who joined from Manchester City this summer, could feature between the sticks.

Borja Iglesias started on the bench last time out but is likely to return in the forward role here, while Marc Bartra should switch from right-back to central defence due to Mandi's absence.

Valencia possible starting lineup:

Domenech; Correia, Diakhaby, Guillamon, Gaya; Musah, Wass, Kondogbia, Blanco; Gomez, Gameiro

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Bravo; Emerson, Bartra, Sidnei, Moreno; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Juanmi, Fekir, Canales; Iglesias

We say: Valencia 2-2 Real Betis

There has only been one draw in the last six meetings between these two sides but that came at the Mestalla in September 2018. Valencia will be full of confidence following an excellent win at Sociedad, but Betis have a number of excellent players, and we are backing a high-scoring draw on Saturday night.

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