- tdv
- Young Pro
- Joined: 04 May 2006
- Posts: 2412
- Location: Ireland
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 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 5:45 pm |
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Sevilla (8th, 23pts) v Real Betis (18th, 18pts)
When: 21:00 CET - Sunday, January 6, 2007
Where: Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville
zoom - galleria Sevilla against Real Betis is often said to the be the biggest and fiercest derby in Spanish football, but it has also been surrounded in bickering and controversy.
Now though, hopes are high that the off-field problems of recent seasons may not a factor this weekend as the two clubs have forged an unlikely truce.
If there is a silver lining to the death of Antonio Puerta at the beginning of this season then it was the renewed bonds of friendship between the clubs.
After appearing to be almost out of control, all the usual barbs and snipes in the build-up to the encounter have been pleasingly absent after a reconciliation made during the mourning period for the young player.
Last season things came to a head when Juande Ramos was struck on the head by a bottle full of liquid and was knocked unconscious, while there were crowd problems in the surrounding streets beforehand.
It only be a minority causing the trouble, but with crowd violence so unusual in Spanish football it was something that caused public concern.
The two clubs did little to diffuse the situation as the club chiefs, José Maria del Nido and Manuel Ruiz de Lopera had spats of their own in the presidential box.
While attending Puerta's funeral the two men hugged and that symbolic gesture may well have changed the face of this encounter for good.
Good Will
Fans, players and directors of Betis turned up at the hospital and at the Mass to pay their respects to the former Sevilla defender and the feeling of good will should not be forgotten.
On the pitch both sides have under-performed in the league and all the talk is about how there will be no favourites ahead of this encounter.
Sevilla do have home advantage and have been steadily improving, but they have had struggle this term as they have had to cope with the loss of Puerta and the coach that brought them success in recent years.
Juande Ramos' departure to Tottenham Hotspur appeared to not be problematic during the first few weeks of his replacement's reign, but Manolo Jiménez has had his problems.
After beating Valencia and Real Madrid in his first two home games, Sevilla slipped to three consecutive league defeats to prove that there to be no automatic pilot for the new boss.
Results did improve in the run-up to the festive break and the club now find themselves just three points from a European place once again.
As for Betis, they failed to sufficiently improve their squad over the summer and Héctor Cúper paid for it with his job last month as the team became rooted in the bottom three.
Veteran trainer Paco Chaparro took over and confidence was restored almost immediately with the team picking up seven points from a possible nine in his first three games.
Turning Point
Despite not yet being clear of the drop zone, the results have given the team renewed belief and although they are in 18th place, they are actually only one win from ninth.
Chaparro knows how to talk a good game to as the 65-year-old has been claiming that Sevilla must be favourites to win the game on Sunday, even if the majority of his players do not agree.
Los Verdiblancos have had to look on enviously as their neighbours have enjoyed unprecedented success in the past two campaigns while they have struggled to maintain their first division status.
Three years ago it was Betis that qualified for the Champions League on the final day ahead of Sevilla and the tide looked to be turning in their favour.
Bad luck and, arguably, some mismanagement saw that path fail to be taken as an injury and then sale of Ricardo Oliveira left them with few options up front.
Joaquín was allowed to leave for Valencia too, but instead of looking to replace either player with some quality buys, the club went cheap and have been struggling ever since.
Javier Irureta was chosen to restore the team's fortunes, but he was out within six months after complaining of the state of things at Betis and Cúper was also unable to operate properly.
Now Chaparro must ensure that the club stay up before a major summer rebuilding programme is required if they are ever to enjoy the European nights that their hosts on Sunday have been doing.
RECENT FORM
Sevilla
Match Result Date Championship
Sevilla - Racing 4 - 1 22/12/2007 LA LIGA
Valladolid - Sevilla 0 - 0 16/12/2007 LA LIGA
Slavia Praha - Sevilla 0 - 3 12/12/2007 Champions League
Sevilla - Murcia 3 - 1 09/12/2007 LA LIGA
Osasuna - Sevilla 1 - 1 05/12/2007 LA LIGA
Almeria - Sevilla 1 - 0 01/12/2007 LA LIGA
Real Betis
Match Result Date Championship
Valladolid - Betis 0 - 0 23/12/2007 LA LIGA
Betis - Almeria 3 - 1 16/12/2007 LA LIGA
Villarreal - Betis 0 - 1 09/12/2007 LA LIGA
Betis - Atletico de Madrid 0 - 2 02/12/2007 LA LIGA
Levante - Betis 4 - 3 25/11/2007 LA LIGA
Betis - Zaragoza 2 - 1 11/11/2007 LA LIGA
TEAM NEWS
Sevilla
Jiménez has only two players absent through injury as Javi Navarro and Andrés Palop remain sidelined through injury. The Sevilla boss has named the rest of his players in the squad to give himself as many options as possible.
Probable Starting XI: De Sanctis; Alves, Escudé, Dragutinovic, Adriano; Jesús Navas, Poulsen, Keita, Capel; Kanouté Luis Fabiano.
Real Betis
Toni Doblas, Fernando Vega and Babic are all still out for the visitors, while David Odonkor, Nano and Capi are all close to returning, but will miss the derby encounter.
Probable Starting XI: Ricardo; Damiá, Juanito, Rivas, Melli; Rivera, Arzu; Sobis, Edu, Mark González; Pavone.
PREDICTION
Betis' fortunes may have been revitalised under Chaparro, but Sevilla are still the strong of the two sides and with home advantage they will be the favourites to win this encounter. Frédéric Kanouté, Arouna Koné and Seydou Keita leave for the African Cup of Nations shortly after the game and they will want to go out in style.
Sevilla 3 - 1 Real Betis
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Should be cracker.
My prediction 3-2 Sevilla.
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