Will the Cypriots go down at home to the strong Andalusians?
Group C of this year’s Europa League is extremely exciting. After three matchdays, all four teams are separated by just three points. Betis Sevilla lead the standings with six points, while Aris Limassol are bottom of the table with three points. These two teams will face each other at Benito Villamarín on Thursday evening at 21:00. The first leg two weeks ago went 1:0 to the vastly superior Andalusians, who are once again the clear favorites
In any case, the first leg in Cyprus was a very relevant indicator for the upcoming second leg. It took until the 75th minute before Ayoze Perez scored the redemptive 1:0 winner. Before that, however, “Los Verdiblancos” missed a number of high-caliber chances, meaning that the narrow result somewhat disguised the relatively one-sided nature of the game. This is one of the reasons why Betis Sevilla and Aris Limassol seem to be favorites to win on Thursday
The fact that coach Manuel Pellegrini’s team have not lost a single home game in all competitions this season and are at least one level above the underdogs from the second-largest city in Cyprus also speaks in their favor.
Betis Sevilla – statistics & current form
In the shadow of the heavyweights and CL representatives Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad, Betis Sevilla have steadily climbed to the top of the Spanish La Liga in recent weeks. Pellegrini’s side have now not lost in seven league games. While Betis had shared the points in four of their previous five matches, two wins in the past two weekends have already lifted the Andalusians to sixth place.
Los Verdiblancos have not lost any of their last ten (!) matches in all competitions. Their self-confidence is therefore at boiling point and serves as a powerful argument to keep an eye on the odds on the southern Spaniards on matchday four of the Europa League group stage between Betis Sevilla and Aris Limassol.
Betis and the damned European curse in their own stadium
It should also be emphasized that “Los Béticos” are even more impressive in front of their own fans than away from home. The Whites have not lost any of their seven home games to date. If you exclude the 1-1 draw against Cadiz and the 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid, they have only ever won at Benito Villamarín. Just three goals conceded in the seven home games mentioned above also underline the impressive stability that the Pellegrini team brings to the pitch in front of a home crowd.
There is, however, a slight downer for Thursday night’s encounter, as the Andalusians have not won two consecutive home games in European competition since 2002. After the 2:1 win against Sparta Prague, however, we dare to predict that this drought will now come to an end ahead of the Betis Sevilla v Aris Limassol clash. If the southern Spaniards build on their performance in the first leg and improve their efficiency, a handicap win with at least a two-goal difference is in the air. The quality, momentum and potential are definitely there with the home side
Predicted Betis Sevilla line-up:
Aris Limassol – Statistics & current form
Aris Limassol are certainly one of the biggest underdogs in this year’s Europa League group stage. The reigning champions from Cyprus have a strong 90 minutes in the play-offs to thank for their participation in Europe’s second most important club competition. After a 2:1 away defeat at Slovan Bratislava, the “Light Brigade” outdid themselves at home and secured their ticket to the main competition thanks to a 6:2 win. This is the first time in the club’s history that the small club has played in an international group stage.
In fact, the first three matches went better than expected in terms of results. They even managed a 2:1 win at home against Glasgow Rangers. However, they suffered narrow defeats at Sparta Prague (2:3) and at home against Betis Sevilla (0:1). With three points to their name, the underdogs can still hope to make it through the winter in Europe
Aris provides plenty of spectacle away from home
Over-betting fans in particular would be delighted to see coach Aleksey Shpilevski’s side progress, as a whopping 22 goals have been scored in the Cypriots’ five international away games so far this season, an average of more than four per match. At least two goals have been conceded in all five matches, so an alternative approach would be to play the odds of over 2.5 in the clash between Betis Sevilla and Aris Limassol. For risk-averse bettors, the over 3.5 in connection with the home win may even be interesting
Meanwhile, it cannot be ruled out that the visitors, led by top scorer Yannick Gomis, will also score. In the league, the defending champions have been in good form again in recent weeks. They have won four games in a row, meaning that they travel to sunny Andalusia with a broad chest and without any major pressure. However, if Aris want to play against the qualitatively superior “Béticos” on Thursday evening, they could concede a few goals…
Predicted line-up for Aris Limassol:
Betis Sevilla – Aris Limassol head-to-head comparison / H2H result
We’ve already covered the first leg two weeks ago. Despite having a clear advantage in chances, Betis Sevilla had to wait until the final quarter of an hour before scoring the winner. In the second leg, it probably won’t take as long for the top La Liga club to convert their superiority and dominance into goals
Betis Sevilla – Aris Limassol betting tip
Betis Sevilla are one of the eight to nine clubs that the bookmakers have on their radar to win the Europa League title. However, before the Andalusians can even look towards the knockout round, they must first get through the group. On Thursday evening, Pellegrini’s side can take an important step and extend their lead at the top of the table. Between Betis Sevilla and Aris Limassol, the betting odds suggest that “Los Verdiblancos” will leave the pitch as winners.
Powerful arguments are obvious. Bético have not lost a single home game this season and have won five out of seven matches at home in all competitions. Ten unbeaten competitive matches in a row is also very impressive. What’s more, the southern Spaniards had the first leg (1:0) completely under control and could have won by a higher margin if they had made better use of their chances
We therefore recommend betting on the handicap home win (-1) ahead of the second leg between Betis Sevilla and Aris Limassol and also argue that the Cypriots have already conceded 13 goals in five European away games in 2023/24. They have never conceded fewer than two goals in a visiting match, neither in qualifying nor in the EL group stage. We have found the top odds at Betano to be 1.90.
