Espanyol vs Betis prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-05-03 16:30.
[p]While faint hopes of a European push sparked by a three-match winning run in La Liga in April have waned, Espanyol remain in a comfortable mid-table position with five rounds to go. The tight nature of the division means they begin the round equidistant between the top seven and bottom three, so they’ll be eager to put a 1-0 defeat at Villarreal – their first in the league since mid-March – behind them.[/p]
[p]A home outing appears to be just what they need as the Parakeets have avoided defeat in their last ten home league matches (W4, D6), which is their longest in La Liga since April 2010 under Mauricio Pochettino. That form faces a stern test here as they’ve won just one of their last five games at the RCDE Stadium against Real Betis (D2, L2).[/p]
[p]Betis arrive in fine spirits after they took a huge step towards this season’s UEFA Conference League final, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the first leg of their semi-final tie. That made it just one defeat across their last 14 outings across all competitions for Manuel Pellegrini’s outfit (W10, D3), who also remain in the hunt for UEFA Champions League qualification through their league position. [/p]
[p]It’s on their travels where Betis have really improved of late, remaining unbeaten across their last seven outings away from home since a 3-2 loss at Celta Vigo in early February (W5, D2). Los Verdiblancos scored 3+ goals in four of those wins, and will fancy their chances of doing so again, having avoided defeat in all of their five La Liga matches against Catalan opposition this term (W2, D3).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Edu Expósito has assisted two goals in his last five La Liga appearances, as many as across his prior 40 top-flight matches combined. Since his Betis debut, Antony has ten direct goal contributions (G6, A4), including his side’s eventual winner in midweek. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini has lost just three of his 22 H2Hs against Espanyol in La Liga (W13, D6).[/p]
[p][i]Written by Nathan Evans[/i][/p]