The hosts still sit on just a solitary win this season after conceding an injury-time penalty to newcomers Girona in a 1-1 draw at the weekend and also remain without success at home to a top-half finisher of last season since March.
Cadiz
Cadiz occupy the bottom three ahead of this LaLiga round, but a four-game unbeaten run has put them within reach of an escape. They still sit on just a solitary win this season after conceding an injury-time penalty to newcomers Girona in a 1-1 draw at the weekend and also remain without success at home to a top-half finisher of last season since March. That win in question came against Real Betis’ fellow European participants Villarreal and forms part of a trend where the hosts’ only three home wins of 2022 have come exclusively from second-half strikes after a goalless interval. This strongly implies Cadiz will take a while to get going if the fans are to leave the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla smiling.
Real Betis
Sadly for the hosts, Betis are exactly the kind of team that can punish early profligacy, as shown in Sunday’s comfortable HT/FT victory by a 3-1 scoreline over Almería. Manuel Pellegrini’s men also hold the added bonus of being distraction-free, having secured safe passage from their Europa League group after holding Roma to a 1-1 draw prior. However, two successive LaLiga blanks on the road provide something of a reality check, as does the fact that a brace of penalties still accounts for the Verdiblancos’ sole away league win of 2022/23. But a trip to Cádiz could well provide a tonic, with Betis winning their last three away H2Hs against them, the last two coming after a goalless first half.
Lucas Perez snatched a point in Cádiz’s most recent home game for the third goal amongst his last four to close the scoring. As for the visitors, Borja Iglesias registered a goal and assist in Betis’ weekend win over Almeria and scored the decider from the spot in last season’s victory at Cadiz. Preparing to face a side with the league’s oldest player (Joaquin Sánchez, 41), Cadiz have conceded to an opponent aged 32 in four of their last six matches!