🏏 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 21:00 CEST
Valencia
vs
Real Betis
5-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- This is the postponed opening-weekend fixture, finally being played. Valencia sit 13th on one point after a goalless home draw with Celta Vigo, while Real Betis are seventh on three points following a 1-0 home win over Real Sociedad. Neither side has conceded a goal yet this season, and both are chasing early pacesetters Sevilla, who lead the table on six points from two games.
- Valencia's midfield three includes 19-year-old Ryunosuke Sato, a permanent signing from FC Tokyo in July 2026. A homegrown product of Tokyo's academy, he scored six goals in 19 J1 appearances last season to earn his move abroad. At 171cm he is small but technically sharp and direct, and he has long been a fixture in Japan's youth national teams. How often he can turn and drive forward here will say a lot about his adaptation.
- The central battle should shape the game. Valencia pair Sato with 187cm Javi Guerra, the 23-year-old academy graduate known for his range of passing, and 32-year-old Uruguayan Gaston Rodriguez, a 185cm ball-winner strong in the air. Betis counter with a double pivot of 189cm Facundo Bernal, the 23-year-old Uruguayan who arrived via Fluminense, and left-footed Noel Deossa, 26, who made his name at Pachuca and Monterrey in Mexico.
- Antony gives Betis their most explosive attacking threat from the right. The 26-year-old Brazil international is left-footed, cutting inside to shoot and beating defenders with trickery; he won back-to-back Eredivisie titles with Ajax before a €95m move to Manchester United. Facing him is 23-year-old Jesus Vazquez, who joined Valencia's academy at the age of five and is seen as the long-term heir to Jose Gaya at left-back.
- On the opposite flank, Pablo Maffeo against Rodrigo Riquelme is a genuine duel. Maffeo, 29 and just 172cm, came through Manchester City's academy and built his reputation on aggressive man-marking designed to smother wingers. Riquelme, 26 and 173cm, is an Atletico Madrid product who plays as a right-footed left winger, broke through on loan at Girona and has been called up by Spain. Expect a niggly, high-tempo contest.
- Valencia's back five offers serious height that Betis must find a way around. Cesar Tarrega is 194cm with one of the best aerial duel records in the division, and 189cm Mukhtar Diakhaby, formerly of Lyon, is dominant in duels and in the air. Betis, by contrast, field Angel Ortiz at 167cm, Antony at 174cm, Riquelme at 173cm and Cucho Hernandez at 175cm. Simply crossing into the box is unlikely to work against that wall.
- Betis name Isco among the substitutes, and Valencia CF sits on the 34-year-old's list of former clubs. The playmaker won four Champions League titles during his Real Madrid years and remains capable of unlocking a packed defence on his own. Against a side likely to sit in a low block with five defenders, his ability to manipulate tight spaces could be exactly the tool Betis need from the bench.
- Valencia's front two combine an experienced traveller and a poacher. Arnaut Danjuma, 29, is a Netherlands international who has played for seven previous clubs including Villarreal, Tottenham and Bournemouth, and is at his best exploding past defenders. Hugo Duro, 26, is a left-footed Getafe academy product who passed through Real Madrid and top-scored with 13 goals in 2023-24. Diego Llorente, 33, of Leeds and Roma fame, and 23-year-old Victor Gomez must handle them.
- In depth off the bench, Betis look the stronger side. Marc Bartra, 35, is a La Masia graduate with Borussia Dortmund on his CV, Hector Bellerin, 31, spent years as a first-choice right-back at Arsenal, Marc Roca has played for Bayern Munich, and Fran Garcia, 27, returned from Real Madrid. Valencia answer with 31-year-old captain Jose Gaya, 192cm target man Umar Sadiq and number 10 Andre Almeida to change the shape of the game late on.