LaLiga: Sevilla vs Real Betis preview

The 129th edition of the Seville derby will take place in LaLiga at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday, when Sevilla host local rivals Betis. The reverse fixture was played in September and Betis won it 1-0 with a late goal from Joaquin. That was the second victory for Betis in the last three direct matches, while Sevilla had won the previous three. Last season Betis pulled off a spectacular 5-3 victory at Sevilla, while the reverse fixture ended 2-2. In fact, three of the last four direct matches had more than three goals scored. Overall, Sevilla have won the derby 59 times, while Betis triumphed on just 38 occasions. Sevilla are still in the race for fourth place after having won their last two league matches, 2-0 over Alaves at home and also 2-0 at Real Valladolid last weekend. Those results left them just one point behind fourth-placed Getafe and three points above sixth-placed Valencia. Sevilla have been knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Slavia Prague, quite a setback considering that they were strong favourites for that tie. Jesus Navas and Sergio Escudero missed the last match through suspension but will be available for the derby, while Maximilian Wober and Nolito are injury concerns. Real Betis had a great first half of the season but now they seem to be fading away. They have won just three of their last thirteen matches in all competitions, got knocked out of the UEFA Europa League by Rennes and also dropped out of the Copa del Rey after losing to Valencia in the semi-finals. Last week they fought hard and grabbed a 2-1 home victory over Villarreal, a result which leaves them in ninth place, three points behind sixth-placed Valencia. In theory Betis are still in with a chance for an Europa League spot, but they will have to record much better results than they did lately. Sergio Canales is the only injury concern for head coach Quique Setien ahead of the derby. Probable line-ups: Sevilla: Vaclik - Navas, Mercado, Carrico, Escudero - Sarabia, Gonalons, Banega, Promes - Yedder, Haddadi Betis: Lopez - Mandi, Bartra, Feddal - Barragan, Lo Celso, Guardado, Carvalho, Tello - Joaquin - Jese My prediction: 1-1 draw, both sides have been struggling lately and they will most likely settle for a draw. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Sevilla win - 1.66 Draw - 4.00 Betis win - 5.00