Lthe round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League pass by Germany. This is not a literal statement, of course, since after tonight’s game there will still be two more days of the group stage in which anything can happen. But it is true that Bayer Leverkusen and Betis, tied for points at the top of the ranking of the Group G, they know that their second direct confrontation in just two weeks has all the ingredients to be their great ‘final’ in this section of the competition.
The team that wins today in the BayArenaExcept for a bizarre combination of results, he will have access to the next round of the tournament practically in his pocket and will be left with a single victory in his last two games, against Ferençváros or Celtic, to guarantee the leadership, which with the new classification structure gives direct access to the round of 16, thus avoiding a previous playoff with any of the teams that fall from the group stage of the Champions League (the third classified).
It is what the Germans and Spaniards will be looking for tonight in a match that promises to be at least as vibrant as the one 14 days ago in the Benito Villamarin, which was resolved with a tie to one. A duel of styles to which both teams arrive after losing last weekend in their respective league championships, but with completely different sensations and that in this case favor the Verdiblancos, both in terms of results and states of form.
Because the Bayer Leverkusen from Gerardo Seoane he’s going through a major bump after his brilliant start to the year. He has not won a match for a month, he was eliminated from the Germany Cup for him Karlsruher, from the German second division, and faces tonight’s match with six casualties, some of them from footballers who usually start, and an important doubt in attack.
Six casualties and one doubt at Bayer Leverkusen
The Spanish-Swiss coach will not be able to count against him Betis with Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Julian Baumgartlinger nor with four other players called to make a difference: Charles Aránguiz, who could not be in the match of Heliopolis of the third day, Karim Bellarabi, Patrick Schick and the last to fall, Mitchel bakker. Without Schick, the lead should be for the Argentine Lucas Alario, but he suffers from physical problems, he did not exercise yesterday with the group and it will be a doubt until the last minute. If he recovers, he will surely play from the start.
Whatever happens to the former partner of Pezzella and Guido Rodriguez on River plate, Seoane will have to rebuild the eleven in search of a victory that allows him to confirm his status as favorite in the group and put an end to the ‘jam’ that started on October 17 after suffering a resounding 1-5 against the Bayern Munich on the same stage as tonight’s game. The performance of players like Diaby, Paulinho, Adli and above all Florian wirtz, its young star, will be key to trying to achieve it.
Betis recover Fekir, Guido Rodríguez and Bellerín
Although in front you will have a Betis that, with the exception of last Sunday during his visit to the Wanda Metropolitano, in a strange game, under heavy rain and in which he gave the impression of being defeated practically from the beginning, he has competed in each and every one of his appearances this season. Or rather, since the year started, a 2021 in which he has only lost five games.
Unlike his rival on the bench, Manuel Pellegrini, which will rotate again, will be able to count on its heavy artillery tonight in search of a prestigious victory. The Chilean booked in front of the Atlético de Madrid to players like Fekir, who did not play a single minute, or Guido Rodriguez. And it also recovers Bellerín, fortunately recovered from a stomach problem that left him out of the call for the weekend.
Undefeated on his two official visits to Germany (1-1 in front of Leipzig at Leipziger Zentralstadion in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Recopa of the 1977-18 season, with a goal from Lopez, and 1-3 in front of Kaiserslautern in the first leg of the round of 32 UEFA Cup of the 1995-96 academic year, with a double of Alfonso and a goal from Alexis, current Team Manager of the team), the Betis knows that the knockout stages go through Leverkusen. And he goes for them with everything … without thinking about Sunday’s derby.
