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Spain: Primera Liga Preview- Valencia v Real Betis [Sat Aug 27th, 2005]
Real Betis travel to Mestalla to face Valencia in the opening weekend's most attractive encounter as the Spanish league kicks off and it should be a engrossing match.
After suffering their worst finish to a season since 1998, Valencia are looking to the future as they prepare to meet Betis, who are on a high after one of their best ever campaigns.
Quique Sánchez Flores will not thank the fixture computer for pairing his side with one of Spain’s new elite as he moulds the Mestalla outfit.
The coach, who arrived from Getafe at the end of last term, has stregnthened the squad considerably and announced that he would return the club to the way things were done under Rafa BenÃÂtez.
So similar will things be to when the now-Liverpool coach was in charge that Valencia are set to kick the seaosn off with nine players from BenÃÂtez’s rein in the starting lineup.
While for many sides finishing seventh would have been seen as a fair achievement, Valencia went into the last campaign as reigning champions and were at least expected to press for a UEFA Champions League place.
But instead they have spent the summer unsuccssfully attempting to negotiate their way into the Uefa Cup via the InterToto Cup.
Despite signing David Villa and Patrick Kluivert to strengthen the front line, the team could not score in the final against Hamburg when they went down 1-0 over the two legs.
Betis will be confident of starting the campaign with a strong performance after beating Monaco in the Champions League qualifier to qualify for the group stages in midweek.
After beating local rivals Sevilla to fourth place on the final day of last season, Llorenç Serra Ferrer’s side then capped a superb season by winning the Copa del Rey.
Rather than going out and purchasing big names to unbalance his squad, the Mallorquin coach picked the players that were needed and they all appear to have slotted in without and problems.
Facing their former club will be free-scoring striker Ricardo Oliveira, who netted 22 league goals in 37 appearances last term, and Xisco who has looked impressive down the left in pre-season.
TEAM NEWS
Valencia: Edu arrived from Arsenal to bolster the midfield, but has been ruled out for six months after damaging his knee ligaments in training. The club immediatly sought out a replceament and signed Hugo Viana, but he will not feature in the starting side.
Miguel also loses out to Marco Caneira for a place in defence, while both Villa and Kluivert will have to wait as Mista looks set to start in attack with Pablo Aimar playing just behind him.
Real Betis: The Andalucian outfit have few injury worries ahead of the match and wisely rested several key players in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup game last weekend against Barcelona.
Ferrer is likely to name a similar team to the one that performed well in Monaco on Wednesday with Joaquin down the right, Xisco on the left and Edu supporting Oliveira at the front.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
Valencia: Cañizares; Caneira, Ayala, Moretti, Fabio Aurelio, Rufete, Baraja, Albelda, Vicente, Aimar, Mista
Real Betis: Doblas, Melli, Junito, Rivas, Luis Fernández; Assuncao, Rivera; JoaquÃÂn, Edu, Xisco, Oliveira
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