Real Betis vs Atletico Madrid: TV channel, live stream, team news & prediction
Real Betis host Atletico Madrid in a meeting between two of La Liga's Champions League chasers on Sunday night.
Manuel Pellegrini's entertainers have ended the last 11 weekends sat snugly in third spot. However, a mini-blip - two defeats in their last four league games - has allowed the chasing pack to close in on Betis.
Atletico Madrid, despite a spate of slip-ups themselves, are part of that lurking group. A win for Diego Simeone's side would see them leapfrog their hosts, climbing back into that all important top four.
Here's all you need to know about a meeting with a myriad of consequences.
How to watch Betis vs Atletico on TV/live stream
When is kick off? Sunday 6 March, 20:00 (GMT)
Where is the match being played? Estadio Benito Villamarín
TV channel/live stream? LaLigaTV (UK), ESPN+ (US), TSN (Canada)
Highlights? La Liga YouTube channel
Referee? Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez
VAR? Ignacio Iglesias Villanueva
Betis team news
Assuming no one does themselves an injury during the wild celebrations conducted on Thursday night as Betis reached the Copa del Rey final, Pellegrini will be missing three players this weekend.
Martin Montoya picked up an Achilles issue in January. Fellow defender Juan Miranda has had to sit out the last seven matches with muscular problems.
Victor Camarasa hasn't made a start all season and isn't expected to in the near future as fitness concerns continue to blight his career.
Atletico team news
Mario Hermoso's latest knock became the 36th different injury Atletico have suffered - a tally only Real Madrid and Barcelona can eclipse in La Liga this season (per Marca).
Geoffrey Kondogbia is poised to join Hermoso on the sidelines with a hamstring problem he picked up after laying on both goals in a 2-0 win against Celta Vigo last weekend. Stefan Savic added to Simeone's selection woes by earning a suspension-inducing fifth yellow card that game.
Club captain Koke is a doubt after missing the last two matches with a muscle injury but has returned to the pitch for some form of training in the week leading up to Sunday's trip south.
Matheus Cunha and Daniel Wass are both expected to continue residing in the treatment room with knee injuries.
Betis vs Atletico head-to-head record
No Suarez? No problem early on for Atletico Madrid! ?
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) April 11, 2021
Yannick Carrasco gives Simeone's side the lead against Betis as they look to regain top spot ?⚪ pic.twitter.com/krUcdNuREQ
Real Betis have a dreadful record against Atletico Madrid this decade. The Seville outfit have won just one of their last 18 La Liga matches against the capital side (D4 L13).
Even on home turf, Betis have lost eight of their last 12 league meetings with Atletico, winning just once. That victory did come relatively recently, as a Sergio Canales penalty decided an encounter in February 2019.
During Simeone's decade at Atletico, Los Rojiblancos have only beaten two clubs more often than Betis.
Betis vs Atletico score prediction
Going into the weekend's fixtures, games involving Atletico Madrid had produced more goals (81) than any other club in La Liga. Betis were a whisker behind with 80 goals flying in at either end.
Atletico have hinted at reclaiming some of their familiar solidity but, after just two matches against mid-table sides, they have a lot of parsimony left to prove.
In what threatens to be a helter-skelter contest, two of La Liga's least frequent drawers may end level.
Prediction: Betis 2-2 Atletico