Valencia travel to face an underperforming Real Betis side at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in La Liga on Sunday night, 1 October 2023. 

Valencia saved their top-flight status with a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in the sides’ most recent meeting as they secured survival by a two-point margin on the final day of last season.

By all means, Betis' most memorable triumph against Valencia over the past decades came when they beat them in last year's Copa del Rey final. 

Manuel Pellegrini's side finished sixth in La Liga last season but they're failing to maintain the same level this term. 

Betis had to deal with a tricky start to the new campaign, with matches against Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona (most of them on the road).

Having won only one of their last seven matches in all competitions, Los Verdiblancos will be looking to turn things around in the next couple of days. They will resume their Europa League campaign with a home match against Czech champions Sparta Prague on Thursday before a trip to Deportivo Alaves in La Liga next weekend. 

Furthermore, the Andalusian outfit have the joint third worst attacking record in La Liga, with just seven goals scored in as many games. 

Meanwhile, Manuel Pellegrini was left furious with the club’s decision to sell Brazil-born Italian international Luiz Felipe to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad outside of the European transfer window, leaving Betis short on defenders. As a result, they’ve struggled during this busy period with a few injuries further limiting Pellegrini's options in terms of rotation.

In a timely boost, William Carvalho recovered from an injury sustained in pre-season as the experienced Portugal international will hope to get more playing time against Valencia. He was only brought on as a second-half substitute at Granada in what was his first appearance of the season. 

Rui Silva picked up an injury and was substituted at the break of Real Betis' 5-0 win at Barcelona two weeks ago. He missed the Europa League trip to Scotland as well as the home game with Cadiz in La Liga but he returned to the matchday squad against Granada in midweek. 

Thus, the Portuguese goalkeeper and Chilean veteran Claudio Bravo are competing for the No. 1 spot on Sunday night. 

Willian José netted three goals in six league games this season but the Brazilian forward picked up an injury and won't be available for selection on Sunday. 

Elsewhere, Youssouf Sabaly, Luiz Henrique and playmaker Nabil Fekir also remain sidelined for Manuel Pellegrini, but reports suggest that Marc Bartra resumed training and should be fit to feature in this game.

Ayoze Perez started all of Real Betis' La Liga games this season and the experienced winger was deployed in a centre-forward role against Granada. He opened the scoring early in his side's 1-1 draw with Valencia in June and will be keen to add to his tally. 

Perez joined Real Betis last winter, initially on loan. He signed a permanent deal this summer as soon as his contract with Leicester City expired. 

Marc Roca, who started all six previous La Liga games for Betis, was also introduced as a late substitute against Granada. Pellegrini is expected to start him in the middle. 

Experienced playmaker Isco is expected to start against his boyhood club, while Assane Diao should keep his spot on the flank. The Senegal-born Spain U19 international scored on his La Liga debut in Betis' draw with Granada.

After barely avoiding relegation last season, Valencia decided to stick with head coach Rubén Baraja. The ex-Valencia midfielder returned to Mestalla in February and will hope to guide his side to a much better finish during his first full season in charge. 

Los Che have won the opening two games of their La Liga campaign but despite the promising start, they have been fairly inconsistent since. 

Valencia's most impressive performance of the season came when they beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 at Mestalla in their first match after the international break and Baraja would use it as a foundation for the upcoming game. 

Rubén Baraja's side suffered a 0-1 home loss to Real Sociedad in midweek as they had to play with 10 men, with Moroccan midfielder Selim Amallah being sent-off in first half stoppage time. 

Their defense was never the main problem, though, as Valencia only conceded 45 goals last season - the best defensive record among clubs that finished in the bottom half of the table. It was their attack that struggled a lot and Baraja had to look for options to bolster his frontline. 

With three goals and one assist in seven La Liga games, Hugo Duro has been one of Valencia's standout performers this season as well as joint top goalscorer along with midfielder Javi Guerra. As for comparison, Duro scored just one goal in 30 La Liga games throughout 2022-23, even though he started just 12 of them. 

Experienced Ukrainian forward Roman Yaremchuk joined Valencia on a season-long deal from Club Brugge and will hope to revive his career after an unsuccessful spell at Portuguese giants Benfica and a disappointing first season in Bruges.

Yaremchuk made his La Liga debut against Real Sociedad last time out as the Ukrainian was introduced as a second-half substitute. However, he might still have to settle for a place on the bench as he had to overcome some injury issues. 

Elsewhere, Portuguese midfielder André Almeida is expected to return to the starting XI for Valencia, but right-back Thierry Correia and Dimitri Foulquier are both carrying knocks and will be assessed before the game.

However, Valencia's chances in this game could be hampered by a growing selection crisis. Captain and key player Jose Gaya is the latest to be ruled out as he joins Sergi Canos, Jesus Vazquez and Alberto Mari on the treatment table.

The Spain international has been diagnosed with a hamstring muscle injury in his right leg, which he sustained during the midweek clash against Real Sociedad at Mestalla.

Turkey centre-back Cenk Özkacar should keep his starting spot in Valencia's backline, though his versatility could see him in a different role. 

Real Betis: Claudio Bravo - Juan Miranda, Marc Bartra, Germán Pezzella, Héctor Bellerín - Guido Rodríguez, Marc Roca - Abde Ezzalzouli, Isco, Rodri - Ayoze Perez. (4-2-3-1) 

Valencia: Giorgi Mamardashvili - Cenk Özkacar, Gabriel Paulista, Mouctar Diakhaby, Cristhian Mosquera - Javi Guerra, Pepelu - Diego Lopez, Andre Almeida, Fran Perez - Hugo Duro. (4-2-3-1) 

These two sides are currently sat in mid-table of La Liga. With lower expectations, Valencia will be content to be 8^th heading into this matchday. Betis, on the other hand, are underachieving with their current 11^th place and are a point worse off than their opponents.

With one win and two draws, Los Verdiblancos are yet to lose a game at the Benito Villamarin this season but they also struggle to win, apparently. Yet, they conceded just one goal in those three games - in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Cadiz - and will be looking to use their defense as a foundation of a potential win against Valencia. 

Both sides have scored in their last seven meetings at the Estadio Benito Villamarín and we expect this to continue on Sunday.