MADRID, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Real Betis and Real Sociedad go into their respective Europa League matches on Thursday night hoping to save themselves an extra effort in the coming month.
Betis lead their qualifying groups with three wins from three matches, five clear of Ludogorets and six more than Roma, who are Thursday's visitors to the Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Luiz Henrique's late goal gave Betis a 2-1 win over Jose Mourinho's side a week ago and a repeat would see them assure their place in the knockout stage with two matches left to play.
With two games a week until European and domestic football stops for the World Cup, that would allow Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini a chance to rest key players.
The coach admitted as much in his pre-game press conference on Wednesday that, "the important thing is to qualify."
"We didn't expect to have nine points from three games, because it is a tough group, but we have the quality and now we have the opportunity to qualify, while playing at home."
Betis will be without influential midfielder Nabil Fekir, who will also miss this weekend's short visit to Cadiz.
Real Sociedad are in a similar situation with nine points from three games and they should have few problems in sealing their place at home against FC Sheriff.
Imanol Alguacil's side won 2-0 in Moldova last week and are expected to win relatively comfortably on Thursday.
With Mikel Oyarzabal on recovery from a knee operation, Umar Sadiq out for the season, and Mikel Merino missing Wednesday's training session, Imanol could give a start to young striker Jon Karrikaburu. Enditem
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)