Villarreal wants to celebrate its centenary before the Betis headdress
MADRID, March 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Real Sociedad is looking for a victory this Sunday at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix (2:00 p.m.) that will allow them to leave behind their European setback in Rome and redirect their course in LaLiga Santander, on a twenty-fifth day in which Villarreal and Real Betis, after a not very favorable continental first leg, they face each other to establish themselves in Europe (6:30 p.m.) and in which Seville and Almería seek to avoid relegation (4:15 p.m.).
The defeat at the Olímpico in the Italian capital (2-0), which puts its continuity in the Europa League uphill, had an impact on the bad run for the San Sebastian team, who have already gone four games without knowing victory -two draws and two defeats -. In fact, their draw last day against Cádiz (0-0) made them fall to fourth position in the table.
Now, with 45 units, Imanol Alguacil’s men have a three-point lead over fifth place, Real Betis, so they can’t relax if they want to guarantee themselves playing in the top continental competition next year. Martín Merquelanz, Umar Sadiq and Aritz Elustondo, all due to injury, will not be available for the duel in Palma.
There, Mallorca, without the suspended Vedat Muriqi or the injured Daniel Luna and Martin Valjent, faces one of its worst possible rivals; They have not been able to beat him since 2012, and in the last six LaLiga games they have been unable to score a goal.
In addition, Javier Aguirre’s men are not currently going through the best form, after losing in three of their last four games, the last one against Elche (0-1), to situate themselves in the middle of the table with 31 points, six from both Europe and relegation.
At the Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal (37) hopes to celebrate the week of its centenary with a win against Betis (41), a duel in which both teams park their European setbacks to try to settle in sixth and fifth square, respectively.
The people from Castellón, who on Thursday did not go beyond a draw in Belgium against Anderlecht in the Conference League (1-1), will try to focus again on the domestic competition and continue the victories against Getafe (2-1) and against Almería (0-2).
The Betic team, which manages four points over the ‘Yellow Submarine’, will try to continue with its good progress in LaLiga, where it has added 10 of the last 12 possible points, after the hard blow of the Europa League; Manuel Pellegrini’s men visited Old Trafford and returned with a 4-1 defeat that paved the way for Manchester United.
Lastly, Sevilla and Almería will put the last of the relegation places into play at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. Tied at 25 points, it is the people from Almeria who currently occupy the second to last place, with the people from Nervion marking the safety zone.
The victory against Fenerbahçe (2-0) could give wings to Jorge Sampaoli’s men, who have gone through three league games without winning: a draw against Rayo (1-1) and two tough defeats against Osasuna (2-3) and Atlético from Madrid (6-1). Now, they face the appointment without the suspended Gonzalo Montiel, Pape Gueye and Fernando nor the injured Marcao, Karim Rekik and ‘Papu’ Gómez.
Rubi, for his part, will not have César de la Hoz, due to the accumulation of cards, nor the headdress Gonzalo Melero in his goal of putting an end to the disastrous streak of the team, which has fallen in four of the last five days.
–SUNDAY PROGRAM IN LALIGA SANTANDER.
Majorca – Real Sociedad. Martínez Munuera (C. Valencian) 14.00.
Seville – Almeria. From Burgos Bengoetxea (C. Vasco) 16.15.
Villarreal – Real Betis. Ortiz Arias (C. Madrid) 18.30.
Athletic Club – FC Barcelona. Gil Manzano (C. Extremeño) 21.00.