Real Betis vs Fiorentina Prediction: This first leg could be a cracker

Real Betis welcome Fiorentina to Benito Villamarin for the first leg of their Uefa Conference League semi-final tie on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 5), with the hosts unbeaten in their last four European fixtures. They arrive into this clash off the back of back-to-back victories in La Liga in which they scored eight goals.

La Viola head to Seville gunning for a third consecutive appearance in the Conference League final, hoping to go one step further this time around. Read on for my Real Betis vs Fiorentina predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Betis are missing Marc Roca (ankle) and Diego Llorente (hamstring) due to season-ending injuries. Chimy Avila has been absent from his side's past four squads in all competitions because of a thigh problem.

Ricardo Rodriguez was able to shake off a recent knock to feature in the 5-1 hammering of Real Valladolid and he could be set for another start on Thursday. Romain Perraud remains an option at left-back, however, if Manuel Pellegrini wishes to prevent Rodriguez from aggravating the problem.

Fiorentina will be hoping to have top scorer Moise Kean available for the trip to Betis, having missed the last two matches having reportedly flown to Paris for personal reasons.

Lucas Beltran and Albert Gudmundsson would likely continue their attacking partnership if he is to miss out again. Boss Raffaele Palladino is otherwise only missing Dodo due to appendicitis.

David de Gea will continue between the sticks for La Viola, offering vast experience in Europe, having claimed two Europa League titles during his career with Atletico Madrid (2009/10) and Manchester United (2016/17).

Real Betis vs Fiorentina Odds

Betis have won three of their last four home games in all competitions and they are 7/10 (which has an implied probability of 58.8%) to triumph in this first leg.

Two of Los Verdiblancos' past four matches in the Conference League have ended in a stalemate, and the draw can be backed at 13/5.

Fiorentina have won three of their previous four fixtures across all competitions and they are 18/5 to come out on top on Thursday.

Over 2.5 goals has been a winning selection in three of Betis' last four matches in all competitions and it is marketed at 10/11 for this clash.

Both teams to score @ 5/6

This has the makings of a fascinating semi-final and I'm confident there will be lots of quality on display in Seville for this first leg. Current form would give Betis the advantage at home, but Fiorentina have made the final in this competition in the past two years, so you wouldn't want to bet against them.

That's why I like the look of both teams to score. Both clubs are blessed with plenty of attacking talent who have no trouble with contributing goals. Betis boast the second-top scorer in the competition in Cedric Bakambu, who has mostly been utilised by Pellegrini in Europe this season - effectively I might add.

Rolando Mandragora is Fiorentina's leading marksman in the UCL with five goals to his name, so this is set up to be an interesting tussle between these two individuals who have played starring roles for their teams.

BTTS has been a successful bet in each of Betis' past four matches in all competitions while there have been goals at both ends in La Viola's previous five outings in the Conference League.

The visitors also boast Kean, who is the second-highest scorer in Serie A this campaign with 17 goals. He may only have three in the UCL so far but he will pose a huge threat to Betis, and he may just be saving his best stuff for the semi-finals.

Cedric Bakambu anytime goalscorer @ 9/5

Kean is a strong contender to score given his form this campaign, but he has had far greater success in the league than he has in Europe. So my goalscorer pick has to be Bakambu, who has delivered time and again in the UCL.

Pellegrini has been handing the DR Congo striker the bulk of his minutes in Europe and it has been paying off as the 34-year-old has struck seven times in 11 appearances.

Bakambu has five goals in his last four outings in the Conference League so he be coming into this semi-final first leg full of confidence, and I believe this will lead to him continuing his hot streak.

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