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Seville / Bilbao, Feb 3 (EFE) .- Betis and Athletic de Bilbao settle this Thursday at Benito Villamarín a high-level revalidation in which both teams will measure their respective states of grace in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, a Classic that will have the prize of the semifinals and a close look at the final and the European classification.

The Chilean Manuel Pellegrini and Marcelino García Toral arrive at this event endorsed by the good form of their teams, in the case of the Asturian with the added prestige and morale of the title of the Spanish Super Cup, and with the clear objective of opting To play higher levels, so they will not reserve anything and will go with everything in this competition that means so much to both.

Pellegrini arrives with the morale fueled by the results, although with his feet on the ground and with the demand for his people to be focused and not be distracted by futuribles, after a brilliant January 2021 in which he does not know defeat, he has added eleven out of fifteen possible points in the league and has been planted in a quarter cup after successively eliminating Mutilvera, Sporting de Gijón and Real Sociedad.

He recovers for this game with dyes of a crossroads in the season one of the mainstays in his defensive system, the Argentine midfielder Guido Rodríguez, who has been absent in recent games due to a muscle injury and who was reserved in the league duel against Osasuna for avoid scares and be for the Copa del Rey.

With him, in the classic drawing of Santiago’s, the authentic soul of the Verdiblanco team, the Cantabrian Sergio Canales, could be ahead of the defense and in the engine of the Betic creation engine room, the Cantabrian Sergio Canales, on whom the game and much of the Potential scorer of the Betic squad due to its state of grace against the opposing networks.

On the rise is also the Portuguese William Carvalho and available, the Mexican Andrés Guarded, who could have a place next to Guido Rodríguez and thus allow Canales to advance to positions closer to the area and link there with the French Nabil Fekir and the center forward, position in which the Galician Borja Iglesias charges more integers than anyone else, with three goals in his last two games.

Although the youth squad player Loren Morón also has ballots, the recovery of the Panda for the Betic cause after his prolonged ostracism gives him greater possibilities, not in vain his two goals against the Real were those of the classification and that of Osasuna, that of the last three points of the thirty that Betis has in the league.

The sides, in the event that Canales is in the center of the medullary, could have as occupants the extreme Cristian Tello due to his unbalancing ability and to see the last pass and the youth player Aitor Ruibal, although with options for the captain Joaquín Sánchez of exit or the destabilizing section, as he already showed against Real Sociedad in the League duel.

The green-and-white defense, with the reaffirmed Joel Robles in goal, could be the classic one, with the Brazilian Emerson on the right side, the Algerian Aïssa Mandi and Víctor Ruiz on the axis, and the doubt between Álex Moreno and Juan Miranda for the side left-handed, with options also for Sidnei da Silva in the center of the rear.

Pellegrini is aware of what Betis is playing in a stake in which the Chilean could reach his first cup semifinals in Spain and in which he has his team focused on winning the match against Marcelino’s without making castles in the air, the only way to do them later on solid ground.

For its part, Athletic Club faces the clash with the intention of maintaining the winning streak that it has chained in the last two seasons, a total of ten consecutive eliminatory rounds between the Copa del Rey and the Super Cup.

The first six, all of the Cup, were last year with Gaizka Garitano to reach the final that the Bilbaoans still have to play on April 3; and the last four with Marcelino García Toral, whose arrival in the capital of Biscay is one month old.

Of the four triumphs with the Asturian coach, two are those of the Super Cup that he also won three weeks ago in Seville against Real Madrid and Barcelona; and the other two in Ibiza and Alcoy against Second B rivals in the first rounds of this Cup. All, except in the first against Madrid, traced the score.

He will continue to have to decide whether to continue Athletic copera far from San Mamés and for this he will return to the capital of Seville, the scene of his last great joy.

Although this time neither of the two giants of Spanish and world football await him, the challenge is similar. Since they will have to get the ticket for the semifinals by beating another important First Division team, Betis, in their field.

This obvious difficulty does not deter the Basque team, which is still excited about adding a new Cup final to add to the one that has yet to play. To reach it, it would chain two finals in fifteen days between April 3 and 17.

To do this, you must take the first step in Heliopolis. And he will try to do it with an eleven in which the second unit is no longer expected as against Ibiza and Alcoyano, but the group for which Marcelino bet on his arrival and what good returns he is giving in the 7 games he has been playing on the rojiblanco bench.

A team led by captain Iker Muniain (6 assists), a basic piece in the game and impressive in strategy; in which the reborn Raúl García (5) scores the goals; and that takes advantage of the depth of Iñaki Williams and the renewed Oscar de Marcos, with clear prominence in 8 of his team’s last goals.

And as a spare part, Asier Villalibre (2 goals and 1 assist), face, voice and music in the joy that Marcelino’s new Athletic emanates. The solid defensive block inherited from Gaizka Garitano and a double pivot with clear roles complete the eleven.

Although Jokin Ezkieta played in Ibiza and Alcoy, tomorrow the starting goalkeeper Unai Simón is expected, who begins to remember the great goalkeeper who was revealed the previous year, and the usual line of four formed by Ander Capa, Yeray Álvarez, Íñigo Martínez and Yuri Berchiche.

In the double pivot, Dani García is also presumed ahead of the centrals and the young Unai Vencedor at his side to help Muniain launch the rest of the forwards.

It seems that Marcelino will also be able to count on Mikel Balenziaga, one of the heroes of the Super Cup replacing Yuri and who had missed the last two games due to muscular overload.

Probable lineups:

Real Betis: Joel Robles, Emerson, Mandi, Víctor Ruiz, Miranda; William Carvalho, Guido Rodríguez; Aitor Ruibal, Fekir, Canales; and Borja Iglesias.

Athletic: Unai Simón; Capa, Yeray, Íñigo Martínez, Yuri; De Marcos, Dani García, Vencedor, Muniain; Raúl García and Williams.

Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Canary Committee).

Stadium: Benito Villamarín.

Hours: 21.00 hours. AND

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