Real Betis vs Celtic

Estadio Benito Villamarín is the venue as Real Betis and Celtic go head-to-head in their 2021/22 Europa League Group G opener.

Betis will embark on their first Europa League campaign since 2018/19 when they reached the first knock-out round but failed to overcome Rennes. Except for a 1-0 defeat to Lyon in November 2013, the Andalusian side have not lost any of their 11 remaining Europa League group stage fixtures (W5, D6), notably conceding under 1.5 goals per game on each occasion. Ahead of this first-ever European clash against Scottish opposition, Betis eked out a 2-1 away win over Granada at the weekend. That victory brought their three-game winless start to this La Liga campaign to a halt (D2, L1) but stretched their worrying run without a clean sheet to five matches, last season included. Despite their somewhat sluggish domestic start, ‘Los Verdiblancos’ are considered favorites to ensure their third Europa League knock-out appearance from as many attempts.

On the other hand, Celtic brushed Ross County aside with a comprehensive 3-0 home win in the Scottish Premiership at the weekend to snap a two-game losing streak in all competitions. That must be comforting for the ‘Bhoys’ as they go up against traditionally formidable Spanish adversaries. The Scottish heavyweights have lost each of their last six meetings with La Liga sides across major European competitions by an aggregate score of 19-1 since upsetting Barcelona in the 2012/13 Champions League group stage. Additionally, Celtic’s overall European record against Spanish clubs reads negatively (W7, D7, L22), with the ‘Hoops’ scoring an average of just 0.72 goals per game across those match-ups. At the other end of the pitch, they conceded a total of 60 in those contests, an average of 1.66 per match.