La Liga - Football: All you need to know about El Gran Derbi

bet365 News Team Updated: Oct 04 2023 16:03 Published: Feb 22 2022 16:36

Seville is a city famous for its passion, so it is only natural that meetings between its two primary football clubs, Sevilla and Real Betis, are often fiery affairs.

Nicknamed El Gran Derbi, the rivalry has existed since 1929 and the latest instalment comes on Sunday, as Los Rojiblancos host Los Beticos at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Sevilla have enjoyed the upper hand throughout the pair's history. Both have won La Liga once, but Sevilla have five Copa del Reys to Betis' two, while they have also won the Europa League on a record six occasions.

Looking ahead to Sunday, the home side are 21/20 to win, with Betis 13/5, while a 1-1 draw is priced at 11/2 and all the action will be available as part of bet365's European Soccer Live Streaming Highlights.

Who has the better record in El Gran Derbi?

The first Seville derby took place in April 1929, with Sevilla winning 3-0 at the Estadio de Nervion, the pair clashing in the Segunda Division. Real Betis got revenge two months later when they won 2-0 at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.

Overall, they have met 136 times, with 64 wins for Sevilla, 40 for Betis and 32 draws.

What has their recent head-to-head record been like?

Real Betis won the last time the pair met, triumphing 2-1 in the Copa del Rey on 16th January. Alejandro Gomez opened the scoring for Sevilla, only for Betis to hit back through goals from Nabil Fekir and Sergio Canales.

The game was mired in controversy as the game was suspended and restarted 24 hours later due to crowd trouble that came on the back of Fekir's equaliser.

However, a Marcos Acuna strike and an own goal from Hector Bellerin gave Sevilla a 2-0 win in the reverse La Liga fixture in November.

In fact, Los Beticos have failed to win any of the pair's last eight La Liga meetings, with their last victory coming in January 2018 when they won a spectacular game at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan 5-3.

How have both teams performed this season?

Sunday's derby comes with extra spice, with both occupying the Champions League places. Sevilla sit second on 51 points, a place and five points above their bitter rivals.

As of writing, the pair are also still in the Europa League. Los Rojiblancos dropped out of the Champions League after finishing third in Group G, but beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in the first leg of their knockout round play-off tie.

They are also unbeaten in their last six in all competitions.

Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini's Betis hold a 3-2 advantage from their Europa League play-off against Zenit Saint Petersburg and have also won four of their last five in La Liga.

When and where is El Gran Derbi?

The match kicks off at 15:15 on Sunday 27th February and will take place at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Built in 1955 and renovated in both 1996 and 2017, it holds 43,883, with the atmosphere arguably unparalleled in Spain. In fact, the Spanish national team often play critical qualifying games at the ground, having never lost there.

The Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan is one of three major venues in the Andalusian capital alongside Betis' Estadio Benito Villamarin and the Estadio La Cartuja, which hosted Spain's three Group E games at Euro 2020, as well as the last 16 fixture between Belgium and Portugal.

Where can I watch El Gran Derbi?

The match will be shown on several international outlets, but is most easily available as part of bet365's European Soccer Live Streaming Highlights.

Who are the players to watch in El Gran Derbi?

Premier League fans will immediately recognise the name of Anthony Martial, who netted his first goal for his new club since joining on loan from Manchester United in last Thursday's 3-1 win over Zagreb.

Martial is 21/10 in the anytime market, while Ivan Rakitic always has a say in his side's best performance and this season's surprise star for Julen Lopetegui's men has been striker Rafa Mir.

The 24-year-old was signed from Wolves on the back of a 13-goal 2020/21 for relegated Huesca and, having netted for the eighth time in La Liga during last Sunday's 1-1 at Espanyol, is 15/8 to score at anytime.

Betis share the goals around and are La Liga's second-highest scorers behind Real Madrid with 47 strikes.

Their top scorer is former Southampton man Juanmi, who has 12 for the season in La Liga. The 28-year-old is 3/1 to score at anytime and is part of slick attacking unit.

Both Willian Jose and Borja Iglesias have scored seven times in the league this term, however, Fekir is often the star.

The French World Cup winner's recent form has seen him linked with Barcelona and with six goals and as many assists in 2021/22, is 3/1 in the anytime.