This season, the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Sevilla is worth a visit despite Real Betis‘ inconsistent form costing them the chance to push on from their qualification for the Europa League last season. In this weeks’ La Liga game against Valencia, 42,508 spectators saw a great clash with two highly competitive and tactically strong teams. This tactical analysis will show both sides’ tactical approaches and explain how Valencia were able to defeat Real Betis away from home.
Lineups
Concerning the line-ups, both coaches started as expected. Quique Setién used a 4-1-4-1 formation, which could also be interpreted as a 4-3-3 system. Since William Carvalho was missing due to an injury, Wilfried Kaptoum made his fourth La Liga appearance. Valencia coach Marcelino on the other hand used his preferred 4-4-2 system with Gonçalo Guedes and Santi Mina up-front.
Tactical approaches
Using statistics, we can easily see that Real Betis were once again the proactive side with much more possession than their opponents (66% to 34%). Throughout the season, we saw that this is part of the philosophy of Setién. Valencia on the other hand adapted to the situation and focused on counter-attacks.
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