Resuming their pursuit of a top-four place in La Liga after a fine first half of the season, Real Betis welcome Celta Vigo to the Benito Villamarin on Sunday.
Los Verdiblancos may have lost just before the winter break but harbour realistic Champions League ambitions, while their visitors hope to continue their recent improvement, as they linger a little too close to the drop zone.
Match preview
Having enjoyed a sparkling 2021, Real Betis will not have dwelled for too long on their late loss at Athletic Club before La Liga went into its mid-season hibernation, after Oscar de Marcos popped up in the 89th minute to steal all three points at San Mames.
Despite being beaten 3-2 by the mid-table Basque side, Betis still set a club record for the most competitive victories posted in a calendar year (29) and ended the first half of Manuel Pellegrini's second season at the helm sitting third in the standings - four points above champions Atletico Madrid and five clear of Barcelona.
The Andalusian outfit are also still in contention for both the Europa League - in which they will next meet Russian league leaders Zenit - and the Copa del Rey, where a last-32 tie with Valladolid awaits next week.
After leading Betis to sixth place last year, former Real Madrid boss Pellegrini has now increased his win-rate to the best in the Seville side's history - standing at 52% to date. Unsurprisingly, the Chilean coach was rewarded with a new contract until 2025 during the break.
His team had been on a four-match winning streak in the league before Athletic intervened, but have nonetheless won seven of their last eight in all competitions - including victories over fellow Champions League contenders Barcelona and Real Sociedad.
They may have ideal opponents against which to get the second phase of the season underway too, as Betis have not lost to Celta Vigo in each of their last six La Liga meetings.
Eighth in the final standings last season - not far behind Sunday's hosts - Celta have found it difficult to replicate such consistency in the opening months of the 2021-22 campaign.
Before coming out on top in their final fixture of last year, Los Celestes had won only one of their previous six games in the league, but had also been beaten just once during the same spell.
Their form has certainly picked up in recent weeks, as since fighting back to seal an improbable 3-3 draw with Barcelona back in November, they have won four of their next seven outings in all competitions - including a Copa del Rey triumph versus ambitious FC Andorra.
Nonetheless, Eduardo Coudet's side will be keen to put three more points on the board in Seville this week, as they remain five adrift of the top half and have only the same margin separating them from the relegation places.
They will be up against precedent, though, as Celta have not won any of their last 14 league fixtures in Andalusia - losing on nine occasions in the region since April 2017.
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Team News
Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini will be awaiting news of further COVID-19 tests, as the current wave of the pandemic has seen the home side hit by a total of six cases during the past fortnight. The only player confirmed as being affected so far, striker Borja Iglesias, is apparently fit to return but still requires a negative test result to feature on Sunday.
Nabil Fekir, German Pezzella, Aitor Ruibal, Victor Camarasa, and veteran goalkeeper Claudio Bravo are among those who may be sidelined, while Guido Rodriguez is ruled out through suspension.
Catalan full-back Alex Moreno has used the winter break to return to full training, having netted three goals and as many assists in the first half of the campaign - including a brace against Real Sociedad in December. Therefore, illness permitting, Hector Bellerin, Marc Bartra and Victor Ruiz should join him in the Betis back four.
Star striker Juanmi will start, having enjoyed a run of seven goals in seven games just before the interval, and he is now on 13 goals all told - as many as in the entirety of his last three seasons.
Meanwhile, nine unnamed Celta players have tested positive for COVID-19 during the past week, but at least four of them could return to training just ahead of Sunday's game.
Joined on the sidelines by the injured trio of Thiago Galhardo (hamstring), Augusto Solari (muscular) and Kevin Vazquez (hamstring), that has left Eduardo Coudet with less than half his squad available to prepare for the long trip south.
If fit, the visitors' top scoring pair of Santi Mina (six) and Iago Aspas (eight) are expected to be given the nod up front.
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Silva; Bellerin, Bartra, Ruiz, Moreno; Guardado, Carvalho; Fekir, Canales, Juanmi; Jose
Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:
Dituro; Mallo, Aidoo, Araujo, Galan; Veiga, Mendez, Suarez, Cervi; Aspas, Mina
We say: Real Betis 2-1 Celta Vigo
Though they have generally fared well away from home this term, Celta seem to have been more afflicted by their virus outbreak and already have a particularly thin squad.
Therefore, if they can get enough of their main men on the pitch on Sunday, then Betis can kick off the new year with another three-point haul at home - where they score at a rate of over two goals per game.
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