Real Betis vs F91 Dudelange Predictions

This Thursday’s game represents a huge night for both Real Betis and Dudelange. The Spaniards will play their first home game in Europe since they managed to throw away a 2-0 1st Leg advantage against city rivals Sevilla in this competition five seasons ago. For the minnows from Luxembourg, the chance to play on such a stage is completely unexpected and they’ll be hoping to do themselves justice.

They certainly did that in their first match, the first time any side from Luxembourg has appeared in the group stage of a European competition. Up against Italian giants Milan, they were only defeated 1-0 at home by a Second Half strike from Gonzalo Higuain. They’ve already had an incredible run in this competition beating Legia Warsaw and Cluj to reach this stage.

This though is a really tough Europa League group with Greek giants Olympiakos the other side in it. Betis got a very solid 0-0 draw in Athens in the opening round of fixtures and they will know this is a match they simply have to win. They’ve made a good start to the season overall, having not lost since the opening match-day in La Liga.

They’ve won 3 and drawn 3 in the league since then to climb up to 5th place in La Liga and they could just be dark-horses for this competition, with Quique Setien’s selection policy suggesting he is taking it very seriously. They named a very strong team in their first game and opted to rest several key players in La Liga at the weekend, seemingly with this one in mind.

They clearly are taking Dudelange seriously and aren’t taking any chances here. That should result in them dominating this game and it’s hard to see the visitors getting many chances. Betis had a ridiculous 82% possession against Leganes on Sunday, completing over seven times as many passes as their opponents. They are one of the best sides in Europe when it comes to possession based football and they should boss this one from the off.

Defensively they’ve been much improved this term with teams giving them more respect. Indeed they come into this match having kept a clean sheet in 6 of their last 7 matches. Dudelange have done brilliantly to reach this stage but against a genuinely strong team from one of Europe’s strongest leagues, they may come unstuck. Overall backing Real Betis to Win to Nil looks good.

Going for Betis & Under 3.5 Goals also appeals. Dudelange defended well against Milan and Betis have only managed 5 goals in 8 matches this term, so they are unlikely to run riot.