Real Betis will take on Valencia in the Copa del Rey 2021-22 final at the Estadio de La Cartuja in Seville, Spain in the wee hours of Sunday, April 24. The match will kick off at 1:30 AM Indian Standard Time (IST).

While Real Betis defeated Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on aggregate in their semi-final clash in the Copa del Rey, Valencia pipped Athletic Club 2-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final to book their place in the summit clash.

FC Barcelona are the defending champions of the Copa del Rey, having thrashed Athletic Club 4-0 in the final last season.

Real Betis vs Valencia odds for Copa del Rey final 2021-22

Real Betis: 2.02

Valencia: 3.80

Draw: 3.30

Click here to check football betting tips.

Note: Odds are subject to change.

Real Betis vs Valencia recent form

Real Betis will look to bounce back after being stunned 0-1 by Elche in their previous outing in the La Liga. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have been inconsistent in their last five matches, registering two wins, two draws and one defeat.

Similarly, Valencia suffered a 0-2 defeat against Villareal in the previous encounter in the La Liga on Wednesday. Under manager José Bordalás, Valencia are winless in their last four matches in the Spanish top-tier league.

Real Betis: L, D, W, W, D

Valencia: L, L, D, D, W

Real Betis vs Valencia head-to-head

Valencia have a superior head-to-head record against Real Betis, winning 27 of the 51 matches that they have played so far. Real Betis have secured just 13 victories while 11 matches have ended in draws.

However, Real Betis have recently dominated Valencia, securing 11 wins in 26 matches.

The last time these two sides met, Real Betis thrashed Valencia 4-1 in La Liga 2021-22 in October.

Real Betis vs Valencia prediction for Copa Del Rey final 2021-22 

Going by current form and recent head-to-head record, Real Betis will start as favourites against Valencia on Sunday. 

Hence, Real Betis have the odds in their favour to claim their third Copa del Rey crown.

Featured photo: JOSE JORDAN / AFP

Liverpool sharpshooter Sadio Mane broke the deadlock in a 2-0 English Premier League win over Aston Villa at Anfield by scoring his 20th goal of the season in all competitions.

It was the third straight campaign in which the Senegal forward and reigning African Footballer of the Year has bagged at least 20 goals for the Merseysiders.

The other African on target in the Premier League at the weekend was Nigeria's Kelechi Iheanacho, whose goal set Leicester City up for a 3-0 home victory over Crystal Palace.   

ENGLAND

SADIO MANE (Liverpool)

Jurgen Klopp's side found it hard work breaking down struggling Villa, but Mane had the answer when he fired home from close-range after running onto Guinea midfielder Naby Keita's pass. With five games left, Liverpool have 89 points and remain in the hunt to break Manchester City's Premier League record of 100 points established last season.

Read | Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

KELECHI IHEANACHO (Leicester)

The striker bagged his 10th goal of the season as he broke the deadlock in the 49th minute, side-footing home a low left-wing cross from Youri Tielemans to claim his second goal in as many games. Leicester's first win since the coronavirus hiatus was sealed by the 100th and 101st Premier League goals of Jamie Vardy's career, leaving the Foxes in third place and on course to qualify for the Champions League.

PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG (Arsenal)

The Gabon forward failed to score for the fourth time in five matches since the Premier League restart, but the Gunners still won 2-0 at Wolves. Amid speculation that he will ask to leave Arsenal in the close-season, Aubameyang's only goals since February came in the 4-0 win over Norwich on July 1. But he made a crucial contribution against Wolves with a clever pass to Kieran Tierney, who went on to set up Bukayo Saka's 43rd-minute opener. Suitably inspired, Arsenal clinched their fourth successive win in all competitions to remain in the hunt for European qualification.

SPAIN

ANSU FATI (Barcelona)

Fati came off the bench to score his seventh goal of the season in Barcelona's 4-1 victory over Villarreal. The Guinea-Bissau-born 17-year-old cut in from the left and drove the ball inside the near post to continue a remarkable breakthrough season for him at Camp Nou. Fati's goal helped Barca reduce the gap at the top of La Liga to four points, with Real Madrid still in pole position with four games to play,

ZOUHAIR FEDDAL (Real Betis)

Moroccan defender Feddal rescued a point for Betis by scoring a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Celta Vigo. He was left free at the back post, where he controlled and finished for his first goal of the season in La Liga. It earned a valuable point for Betis, who have been sliding closer to the bottom three. They sit nine points clear of the relegation zone with four rounds left.

ITALY 

MUSA JUWARA/MUSA BARROW (Bologna)

The pair of Gambian forwards combined to deal a potentially fatal blow to Inter Milan's Serie A title hopes as Bologna fought back to beat Antonio Conte's side 2-1 at the San Siro. The 18-year-old Juwara came off the bench to drill in a 74th-minute equaliser before Barrow capped a flowing counter-attack late on with a low finish to score a dramatic winner.

GERMANY

EDMOND TAPSOBA (Bayer Leverkusen)

When Leverkusen's Burkina Faso defender Tapsoba clattered Robert Lewandowski, who went onto score twice, early in the German Cup final, David Alaba swung in the resulting free-kick to give Bayern Munich the lead in a 4-2 victory at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. After Alaba and Serge Gnabry scored in the first half for Bayern, Lewandowski netted twice after the break to leave him with a total of 51 goals this season while Sven Bender and Kai Havertz bagged consolation goals for Leverkusen.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis

Sevilla beat local rivals Real Betis 2-0 as La Liga returned after three months away on Thursday, becoming the second of Europe's five major leagues to resume following the global pandemic. 

After the Bundesliga in Germany restarted on May 16, La Liga opened its doors again to players but not supporters at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where the usually vibrant Seville derby was played in front of empty stands. 

The game was the first in Spain's top flight since March 10 but 93 days later, another professional fixture has been completed without incident, offering further encouragement to the Premier League in England and Serie A in Italy. Both are set to return next week.

Lucas Ocampos gave Sevilla the lead from a 56th-minute penalty and Fernando Reges then added the second goal for the home side, who are third in the table.

This was the first leg of a 39-day sprint to the finish in La Liga, that will see teams playing every three days for five and a half weeks and undergoing stern examinations of their fitness.

Both coaches made use of their new allocation of five substitutes and there was a drinks breaks in each half but the contest lost its fluency late on, in part because Betis never looked like staging a comeback.

Read | The return of La Liga: What's at stake?

Victory strengthens Sevilla's hold on third place as they move four points above Getafe and Real Sociedad below them. Betis sit 12th and face the possibility of being dragged into a relegation battle. 

This was as far from a typical Seville derby as could be imagined, a pale shadow of the division's most heated fixture and a clear demonstration of what has been sacrificed to keep the season going. 

Virtual supporters

"I always believed we would play again," said La Liga president Javier Tebas, who had also indicated on Thursday that '10 or 15 per cent' of fans could attend stadiums before the season finishes on July 19. 

For now, though, stands remain empty, the voices of the players and coaches audible and the atmosphere strange. On television, fans at home had the option to add virtual supporters taken from the computer game FIFA, as well as chanting, which ebbed and flowed according to the action. 

When the excellent Ocampos and Fernando scored, there was cheering, and when substitutes came and went, there was applause. 

Earlier, the players had arrived wearing masks and gloves and their temperatures were taken before entering the stadium. Outside, around 200 supporters had come to greet the team buses but they dispersed shortly after, with 600 police and security personnel in attendance to prevent mass gatherings. 

"No fans allowed but we're here and we can't wait," shouted a 60-year-old supporter in a Sevilla shirt. 

There was a minute of silence held before kick-off in memory of the victims of the pandemic, with the players standing at a distance from each other around the centre circle. In the 20th minute, there was applause to pay tribute to those working on the front line.

Read | La Liga's new reality to bring optimism, discomfort

In the stands, the substitutes, still wearing masks, sat spread out in the rows behind their coaches and Sevilla's were among the few celebrating when the goals flew in shortly after half-time. 

They were comfortable winners as Ocampos scored a penalty after Marc Bartra was adjudged to have pushed Luuk de Jong and, six minutes later, a delightful Ocampos flick at the near post allowed Fernando to head in a second.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Christina Quicler

Sevilla and Real Betis is the game in Spain most defined by its fans, and on Thursday, it will be the first glimpse of La Liga without them as the season resumes behind closed doors after three months away due to the global pandemic. 

Fireworks, banners, plumes of smoke and crowds, delirious at the sight of a team bus, let alone a goal, the Seville derby is a fixture renowned for its intensity and cherished by its supporters. 

There will be 110 games held in 39 days, with clubs playing every three days for five and a half weeks, but none for the rest of the season will be as much of a stark reminder of what is missing. 

"We can't wait to return to competing," said Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday. 

"In circumstances that three months ago were unimaginable but today it is the reality and we have to adapt. 

"The derby is going to be played and we all know what it means. We have to respond."

At the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, where Sevilla had only lost two league games this season in front of their fans, the stands will be empty, except for officials and substitutes, who will be stretched out across rows to maintain social distancing. 

For those watching on television at home, the stands can be full, with virtual faces planted in place of vacant seats and fake crowd noise, taken from the computer game FIFA, ebbing and flowing according to the action. 

La Liga's hope is to pitch the restart as a celebration. 

"Volver es Ganar", has been the league's slogan, "To Return is to Win", and there is excitement around football's return, to go with the relief in recent weeks as the number of deaths and infections have fallen. 

- 'Respect the rules'-

Spain has recorded more than 27,000 deaths overall and remains one of the worst-hit countries in the world by the disease. 

But there were 48 new infections on Monday, the lowest since lockdown was declared by the government and down from as many as 10,000 towards the end of March. 

Sport resuming adds to the sense that the crisis is now under control but the differences in Seville could also be a sobering demonstration of Spain's "new normal". 

All players will arrive wearing masks and gloves and have their temperatures checked before entering the stadium. 

In total, only around 270 people will be allowed inside while outside, 600 police and security personnel will remain in operation until hours after the final whistle. 

Their remit will be to ensure fans do not gather together in large groups, fill up small areas or congregate on the same streets. 

A perimeter fence will be in place to keep them at a distance from the stadium. 

"It is very important that they pay attention to what is asked of them," said Betis coach Rubi. "It will be the only time in their life that this will happen. They have to live it 100 per cent but while respecting the rules." 

The football will be the same, albeit with five substitutes allowed instead of three and two drinks breaks permitted to take into account the possibility of extreme heat this summer. 

Sevilla cannot afford a slow restart either given they sit at the front of a tight queue of clubs aiming to overtake them and finish in the top four. 

One point behind are both Real Sociedad and Getafe. Atletico Madrid are two points back in sixth. 

Betis have not entirely given up on European qualification themselves although it will take a formidable run to close a nine-point gap on seventh-placed Valencia, who host Levante on Friday. 

"We are not going to make any excuses about the unusual circumstances, the lack of fans or the small amount that we have trained," said Rubi. "This is the situation. We have to face it."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Cristina Quicler

The Spanish top-flight football season will restart on June 11 with the derby between Sevilla and Real Betis, La Liga confirmed on Sunday.

The first round of games following the shutdown will be played over four days, with leaders Barcelona at Mallorca on June 13 and Real Madrid at home to Eibar the next day.

The following matchday will run from Monday, June 15 to Thursday, June 18.

Barcelona will host Leganes on June 16 while Madrid take on Valencia in the capital two days later.

The Spanish Sports Council released a statement Friday saying that the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga had agreed the format for the 11 remaining rounds in the top two Spanish divisions. 

Read | The return of La Liga: What's at stake?

La Liga said the season should be completed by July 19.

"We want next season to start September 12," La Liga president Javier Tebas told Movistar.

"We have designed the schedule to give each team at least 72 hours of rest between matches... We will update the schedule two matchdays at a time to take into account the weather conditions, which are known two weeks in advance."

Barcelona led Real Madrid by two points at the top of the table when the season was halted in March.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Javier Soriano

At times, La Liga may seem like a two or at the most three-horse race, but there is no denying that the Spanish top-flight provides plenty of action-packed moments on a weekly basis.

Until it was brought to a halt by the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019/20 season proved no different either.

While the usual suspects are battling at the top of the table, the race for the European qualifying spots and the relegation battle has kept fans on their toes. While we have seen some one-sided thrashings, there have been quite a few nail-biting encounters as well.

Read | Top five matches in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season so far

With the season currently on hold, let’s take a look back at five of the best matches from the 2019/20 La Liga season so far.

Villarreal 4-4 Granada (August 2019)

The first match week itself delivered a classic encounter, as Villarreal and Granada turned it on at the El Madrigal. Santi Cazorla had put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot thirty minutes in, but Granada pulled it back with a penalty of their own, as Fede Vico levelled things deep into injury time at the end of the first half.

The second half was packed with breathtaking action as Moi Gomez made it 2-1 for Villarreal, but a Ruben Pena own goal brought Granada back into it.

Two goals in eight minutes from Gerard Moreno and Karl Toko Ekambi seemed to have won it for Villarreal, but Granada produced quickfire goals of their own soon after, as Roberto Soldado and Antonio Puertas struck within the final fifteen minutes to ensure the spoils ended up being shared.

Atletico Madrid 3-2 Eibar (September 2019)

It has been a rocky season for Atletico Madrid, with Diego Simeone’s men not looking their best for quite some time.

Eibar looked to make the most of the situation early in the campaign, as Charles and Anaitz Arbilla put them two goals ahead within twenty minutes at the Wanda Metropolitano. However, marquee summer signing Joao Felix managed to halve the visitors�?lead before half-time.

Simeone brought on Vitolo in place of defensive midfielder Marcos Llorente at half-time and the move paid off, with the substitute levelling the score just seven minutes in.

No winner was forthcoming as the game wore on and it seemed as if Simeone was happy with a point when he threw on Thomas Partey in the 84^th minute.

Read | Top five matches in the 2019/20 Premier League so far

That turned out to be an inspired change, as the defensive midfielder bundled home a right-footed effort in stoppage time to bag a memorable win for his team.

Eibar 2-1 Villareal (October 2019)

The first half at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium was pretty uneventful as both teams struggled to find their finishing touches even though there were quite a few chances created. That would change after half-time, as the game suddenly had an edge to it.

Finally, at the hour mark, the home team broke the deadlock as Kike Garcia headed home a cross from Fabian Orellana. Villarreal, chasing the game, threw on the likes of Moi Gomez, Gerard Moreno and Santi Cazorla, but were unable to find a way through until the 87^th minute, when Moreno levelled it up with a left-footed strike.

With just stoppage time left, there was a frenzy on the pitch as both teams pushed for a winner, and four minutes into added time, Orellana came up with the goods and sent the home fans at the stadium into delirium.

Real Betis 2-3 Barcelona (February 2020)

Goals, spectacular saves, red cards, Messi’s magic, a zero-to-hero moment - this match had it all. Barely five minutes in, Clement Lenglet handled the ball in the penalty box, earning Real Betis a penalty, upon which Sergio Canales made no mistake in cashing in.

However, things were all square four minutes later as Frenkie de Jong struck for Barcelona after captain Leo Messi set him up with an exquisite pass.

Nabil Fekir put the hosts in front again in the 26^th minute, but parity was restored on the cusp of half-time with Sergio Busquets getting on the end of a Messi pass. Barcelona dominated for the most of the second period and it paid off in the 72^nd minute when Lenglet turned hero from zero, heading home Messi’s cross.

Things got a touch heated up after that, with Fekir getting sent off, putting the hosts at a disadvantage. Lenglet, too, was given his marching orders, setting up for a nervy finish.

Eventually, Barcelona held on for a narrow but hard-earned win, putting them on course to knock Real Madrid off the perch of the La Liga table.

Sevilla 3-2 Osasuna (March 2020)

Chasing the Champions League spots, Sevilla made a strong start to the game, with Youssef En-Nesyri opened the scoring just thirteen minutes in. The hosts were two goals clear by the time half-time arrived, with Lucas Ocampos firing one in during stoppage time in the first half.

Chasing a two-goal deficit, Osasuna made things a whole lot more difficult for themselves as goalkeeper Sergio Herrera got sent off for handling the ball outside the box. However, the visitors did not lose spirit and rallied to a fine comeback, as Aridane Hernandez pulled one back in the 64^th minute before Roberto Torres squared things up from the penalty spot ten minutes later.

As the game entered stoppage time, Osasuna seemed to have done enough to salvage a point from the unlikeliest of circumstances. It was not to be though, as En-Nesyri broke their hearts with a left-footed strike two minutes into added time.

The onset of the 2019-20 La Liga season has also brought new player to its shores. While some switched fulfilling their childhood dreams of playing under their idols, for some it was the beginning of a completely new tangent in their lives. All in all, the summer transfer window was exciting, to say the least as we saw some big names making the moves to some of the biggest clubs in the world.

Here we look at the top signings in the summer transfer window that are tipped to surpass the expectations of their managers and fans alike in Spain.

Joao Felix

(Benfica to Atletico Madrid)

The teen prodigy from Portugal, Joao Felix has made his move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid and will be now playing under the supervision of Argentinian coach Diego Simeone. Felix rose through Porto’s youth ranks and has the goods to play as a winger or an attacking midfielder.

He has the speed and the age to outrun some of the world’s best defenders which were evident on his debut for Atletico in La Liga. Patience is the key with Felix as the �?26 million wonder might just come through.

Antoine Griezmann

(Atletico Madrid to Barcelona)

World Cup winner in 2018 and the leading man for Simeone in Spain’s La Liga, Antoine Griezmann’s move to Barcelona didn’t sit well with Atletico’s fans. Although swaying towards the Catalan giants, Griezmann has been brought in to fill in for the faltering pace of Luis Suarez.

The Frenchman has made a strong start with the Blaugrana in the domestic campaign and might just be the key to help them propel towards a sixth European title. To procure his services, Barcelona shelled out �?20 million to drive him to Camp Nou.

Eden Hazard

(Chelsea to Real Madrid)

Eden Hazard to Real Madrid had been speculated for a long time with Zinedine Zidane showering praise for the Belgian at every given instance. Chelsea were reluctant at first but finally gave in after receiving �?00 million from the Spanish giants.

Hazard will fit perfectly at the Santiago Bernabeu as he can take the role on an offensive front which the Los Blancos have been lacking since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Also, it was time for Real’s president Florentino Perez to bring back the Galactico era back to the Bernabeu.

Frenkie De Jong

(Ajax to Barcelona)

The Catalonians paid �?5 million to get one of the hottest properties in world football at present to bring him to Camp Nou. Despite a stellar season with Ajax in the Netherlands, his notable performance against Barcelona’s arch-nemesis Real Madrid was the highlight of what was about to come.

Ernesto Valverde was pleased that the versatile midfielder will don the colours of the Blaugrana in the 2019-20 campaign.

Nabil Fekir (Lyon to Real Betis)

Real Betis swooped just in time to bring Lyon’s Nabil Fekir to Spain, otherwise, Liverpool were up and running to get the French international to Anfield. Fekir possesses the ability to play both as a forward or an attacking midfielder, switching roles at ease.

Betis had to offer �?9.75 million and the Frenchman is already up and running, having scored two goals in his first three domestic appearances in the league. 

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Gabriel Bouys