Betis vs Sparta Prague prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-04 16:45.
Sunday evening saw a timely end to Real Betis’ four-game winless run across all competitions (D2, L2), one that included a 1-0 loss away to Rangers in the opening round of this UEFA Europa League (UEL) group stage. A 3-0 La Liga home win over Valencia will go down as their finest performance of the season, and in the eyes of Manuel Pellegrini was a just reward for weeks of getting the fundamentals right.
Their only two previous wins in this 2023/24 season were followed up by meetings with Atlético Madrid (D 0-0) and Barcelona (L 5-0), so the visit of Czech champions Sparta Prague provides an excellent opportunity to string together back-to-back victories, particularly as they won all four UEL group stage games as pre-match favourites last season.
Sparta Prague have had the advantage of an additional day’s rest as well as superior domestic form, with their 2-1 weekend league win at home to Viktoria Plzeň extending their unbeaten run across all competitions to eight games – seven wins and a dramatic draw in the 308th Prague Derby. Manager Brian Priske has since declared his side is “in the right place football-wise” as they stand atop both the Czech First League and Group C of the UEL.
It was a hard-fought 3-2 win at home to Aris Limassol that got the job done in the latter, but Sparta have struggled of late when leaving the country. This game actually takes place 35 months to the day since their last away win in a UEFA fixture (4-1 at Celtic Park in Glasgow), with ten unsuccessful attempts since then (D2, L8) largely responsible for failures to advance beyond the group stage of their two prior UEL campaigns.
Players to watch: 18-year-old Betis forward Assane Diao could see more minutes than he did against Rangers after opening the scoring in his two league appearances between UEL fixtures. Sparta midfielder Ladislav Krejčí, who recorded a first-half double in their win over Aris, will be fresh after serving a two-game domestic ban.
Hot stat: The first half was the highest-scoring half in just one of Betis’ last 14 competitive matches.