Aris vs Betis prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-25 16:45.
After two UEFA Europa League (UEL) matchdays, all four teams in Group C have three points, so a win here for either Aris Limassol or Real Betis would be huge. Coming into it in decent form, Aris’ 2-1 win over Rangers on matchday two kickstarted a three-match winning run, and they opened the scoring within the first ten minutes of each of those victories.
Manager Aleksey Shpilevsky hammering his players’ defensive efforts before the Rangers game seems to have reaped the desired rewards, although they have only kept one clean sheet across their last six home games (W4, D1, L1). Perhaps more likely to impress in attack then, it’s worth noting that the Light Brigade have averaged an impressive 3.5 goals per game across their European home fixtures this term (W3, L1)!
Betis responded to their 1-0 matchday one defeat to Rangers by beating Sparta Prague 2-1 in a game which saw two goals before the tenth minute, so like their hosts, they are no strangers to action-packed starts. In fact, they took the lead against Getafe in the first minute on Saturday before playing out their fourth 1-1 draw in six competitive games (W2).
The last three of those came on the road, but Betis haven’t won a competitive away fixture since mid-August (D3, L3) so there might be a few nerves as they head to Cyprus for the first time, especially as Marc Bartra’s injury and Luiz Felipe’s departure has left them short of specialist centre-backs. Refusing to complain, manager Manuel Pellegrini said his side “will get through this with the players we have.”
Players to watch: After scoring two UEL goals this term, Aris’ Shavy Babicka could become the first African to net in each of his first three UEL appearances. Marc Roca was Betis’ early scorer against Getafe, although his two goals prior to that arrived between the 50th and 80th minute.
Hot stat: Spanish clubs have won seven of their last eight H2Hs against Cypriot opponents (L1).