Real Betis welcome Manchester United to Estadio Benito Villamarin in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie in 2022-23 UEFA Europa League.
Having lost the first leg 4-1 at Old Trafford, Betis now must simply win by a four goal margin at minimum to advance to the Quarter-Finals, whilst a 3-0 win would send the tie to extra-time and potentially penalties.
Man Utd meanwhile will qualify for the Quarter-Finals with a win, draw or if they lose by at least two goal margin at maximum
Team News
Luiz Felipe is ruled out for Real Betis after he suffered a hamstring injury following the first leg, which forced him to miss their 1-1 draw at Villarreal in La Liga.
Nabil Fekir (knee) and Juan Cruz (unspecified) are both absent.
Man Utd will be without forward, Alejandro Garnacho after he suffered an ankle injury during their goalless draw against Southampton last weekend.
Marcel Sabitzer (knock) and Anthony Martial (hip) are doubts but Christian Eriksen (ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
Casemiro is available for selection despite being red carded against Southampton, because his four-match ban only applies to domestic matches.
When is Kick-Off?
Real Betis host Manchester United on Thursday 16 March at 6:45pm CET (5:45pm UK Time) at Estadio Benito Villamarin, with the tie broadcast live on BT Sport in UK.
Stat Attack
- Real Betis lost their only previous meeting against Man Utd (L1), which came in a 4-1 defeat in the first leg at Old Trafford.
- Man Utd are visiting Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarin for the very first time in all competitions.
- Real Betis scored three goals in two of their three home matches during the Group Stage (W3), which came in 3-2 win over Ludogorets Razgrad and 3-1 victory against HJK.
- Utd’s Marcus Rashford has scored three goals across two of his last three away appearances in the Europa League, only failing to score in a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad in November.
Prediction
Having been outclassed in the first leg, Real Betis simply must score first here and seek to keep a clean sheet if are to stand any chance, although they will be boosted by the fact that they scored three goals in two of their three home games in the Group Stage – albeit without a clean sheet.
Man Utd meanwhile can afford to relax a bit with manager, Erik Ten Hag able to rotate his squad but having conceded seven goals in their last away match – against Liverpool in the Premier League, I do expect him to field a strong team to avoid any risk of a costly defensive collapse.
Ten Hag’s Red Devils will also know that Real Betis will be desperate to score early to offer them some hope of overturning their deficit, so if they can soak up potential early pressure then I can see them prevailing.
Prediction: Real Betis 1-2 Manchester United
Result: Real Betis 0-1 Manchester United (Man Utd win 5-1 on aggregate!!)
Leave a Reply