Valencia vs Real Betis 01/03/19

1 March 2019

After playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg, Valencia will host Real Betis to the Estadio de Mestalla for the return leg of their Copa del Rey semi-finals tie.

Although the hosts come into this meeting carrying a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions (W4, D5), the Bats have failed to secure a triumph in two of their last three competitive home outings (W1, D2). But, Marcelino Garcia Toral’s men have been impressive at home when it comes to their defensive performance as they’ve preserved five clean slates in their previous six clashes at Mestalla, remaining the only Spanish team that is yet to concede over 1.5 goals per match at home in some domestic competition. Still, a potential problem for the Oranges could be the fact they’ve scored just four goals in their last six contests, struggling to find the back of the net twice in the process. As a result, only one of Valencia’s previous five games has produced goals on both ends, while all of them ended with less than three goals.

Meanwhile, the visitors have managed to bounce back immediately after a disappointing Europa League elimination to Lille, pulling off a routine 2-0 road win over Real Valladolid last time out. However, Betis’ poor run of form has seen them failed to clinch a victory in five consecutive games across all competitions (D3, L2), conceding 2+ match goals four times in the process. Los Verdiblancos have been underperforming away from home for the majority of the season. Things have gone from bad to worse for Quique Setien’s men, who have won just two of their last ten road trips (W2, D4, L4). Another frustrating fact for the Béticos is that they’ve struggled to hit the net in six of their previous seven H2H meetings with Valencia at this venue while conceding over 1.5 goals per match five times in that period.