UD Almería vs Real Betis: the comforts of home and a vivid memory
One of the LaLiga Santander sides who are better off at home comes up against one of the best teams on the road this Saturday (kick-off 4:15pm CET).
The old cliché is that home is where the heart is and for UD Almeria that really is the case since they rank fourth in the home form table while Real Betis rank 6th overall if the table was split on away games. The Rojiblancos collected up 4 points in the last two weeks at the Power Horse whereas the Béticos racked up two back-to-back victories away from the Heliópolis to earn 6 points. Both LaLiga Santander sides will go into the game on the back of defeats. This Saturday (kick-off 4:15pm Spain Time) an Andalusian derby will be played between two outfits with different objectives. Real Betis kept the three points in Seville in the first half of the 2021/23 season following a comprehensive 3-1 victory over the Indalicos.
UNDEFEATED
UD Almeria seem to have the comforts of home against the Verdiblancos. It will be the 5th visit of Real Betis Balompié to the remodelled Power Horse Stadium; four matches in league action -two wins for UD Almería and one draw- and another Spanish Cup last-32 tie that ended up in a victory for the Indalicos-. Before that Spanish Cup meeting, the last league match played by both Andalusian teams will always be vividly remembered by the UD Almeria fans. In the past 2013/14 season, the team with Francisco in the driving seat desperately needed the three points in the last to third league fixture to stay up. A last-minute cross from the right wing sent by Fernando Soriano found Zongo, who slotted home to seal a 3-2 victory over the Sevillian team. It is one of the most wonderful moments for the Rojiblancos. That vital victory in a crunch game took UD Almería out of relegation to remain in the Spanish top flight for one more season.
UD Almería have scored a total of 7 seven goals while Real Betis Balompié netted 4 times in all the clashes between the two Andalusian sides.
ABSENCES
Key players have been dropped from both squads on Matchday 21. Rojiblancos Baptistao and Robertone will sit out the next game due to accumulation of yellow cards.Head coach Pellegrini cannot count on booked players Fekir, Carvalho and Luiz Felipe in addition to the injured Juan Cruz and Paul.
REFEREE
Javier Arberola Rojas, from the Castilla La Mancha Referees School, will be the match official who will be assisted by Javier Iglesias Villanueva as VAR referee. It will be the second time he will be refereeing a game for UD Almería this season after the home defeat to Real Sociedad (0-2). He has also refereed a Spanish Cup last-16 tie that saw Real Betis drawing with CA Osasuna. This is his sixth season on duty in the Spanish top flight.
SOLD OUT!
This is the second time that some visitors head to a sold out Power Horse Stadium this season since all the tickets that were up for grabs were sold out earlier this week. Verdiblancos’ travelling supporters are expected out in force. Fans will surely create a rocking atmosphere on the south coast in this Andalusian derby.
UDA RADIO & DIPALME RADIO
This Matchday 21 fixture will be broadcast by Club's official radio station UDA Radio. Fans can get match ready with the Conexión Rojiblanca programme that starts at 3:15pm (CET). Listeners can also tune in to Dipalme Radio.
