Real Betis vs Bayer Leverkusen
UEFA Europa League, KO: 17:45 Oct 21, 2021, Benito Villamarin Stadium
REAL BETIS and Bayer Leverkusen have both made perfect starts to the Europa League group stage so a victory in Seville tonight would see one of them plant a foot in the knockout stage.
It looked like these sides would be scrapping for top spot in Group G when the draw was made and that's how it has panned out so far, although the La Liga side had to come from 2-0 down to defeat Celtic 4-3 in a thriller on the opening night.
Leverkusen also smashed four past the Hoops on Matchday Two (below), bringing up a bet for Slips Tips, and although they managed to keep a clean sheet it was more down to poor Celtic finishing than good defending.
Bayern Munich weren't as charitable as Ange Postecoglou's side at the weekend as they romped to a 5-1 victory over Leverkusen to underline their superiority in the Bundesliga.
That ended a five game winning streak for Gerardo Seoane's men so they will be desperate to get back on track in Spain. But it won't be easy against a Real Betis side who have lost just once in their last seven.
Manuel Pellegrini remains one of the world's wisest coaches and will have spotted the weaknesses that Bayern Munich so ruthlessly exposed at the weekend.
How the bookies view it
Home advantage makes Betis slight favourites for this one at 6/4 with Betfred while Leverkusen are 20/11 with SBK. The stalemate shouldn't be ruled out and is 39/14 at VBet.
Team news
Pellegrini has almost a full squad to pick from, with only Youssouf Sabaly ruled out and Víctor Ruiz a doubt. Leverkusen have more injury troubles with Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Julian Baumgartlinger, Exequiel Palacios and Charles Aranguiz sidelined.
Players to watch
Juanmi caught the eye for Real Betis in their win over Celtic, netting a double, and has four goals from eight games this season. He's 13/5 with Paddy Power to add to that tally here and those odds look pretty generous.
Patrik Schick (below) has hit the ground running for Leverkusen and the Czech already has eight goals to his name this term. He has netted four in his last four games and is 11/8 with McBookie for anytime scorer in this one.
Anything else catch the eye?
There should be goals in this one, on the evidence of how the group has played out so far. Both teams to score is sadly just 5/9 at SBK while even over 2.5 goals is a best 13/20 at Unibet.
That's not great value but over 1.5 first-half goals is better at 6/4 with SBK and that bet landed for me at the Parc Des Princes on Tuesday in another game between two expansive sides.
These teams are pretty evenly matched and that makes a one-goal winning margin for either side appealing at 13/10 with McBookie.
This UEFA Europa League match between Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen will be played on Oct 21, 2021 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Real Betis vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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