Preview: Ferencvaros vs. Real Betis - prediction, team news, lineups

Ferencvaros and Real Betis will face each other for the very first time when they lock horns in the Europa League group stage on Thursday night.

The visitors have scored at least twice in each of their last five games across all competitions, while the Hungarian hosts have found the back of the net in each of their last 10 competitive matches so far this season.

Match preview

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Participating in just their second ever Europa League campaign, Ferencvaros suffered defeat in their opening game against Bayer Leverkusen earlier this month, losing 2-1 in Germany.

Peter Stoger's men made a bright start to the game, scoring in the eighth minute through Ryan Mmaee. However, the Bundesliga side responded well with goals either side of half time from Exequiel Palacios and Florian Wirtz to turn the game on its head.

Since their Group G defeat, Ferencvaros have won each of their last three domestic matches, including a commanding 9-0 victory away against FC Hatvan in the Magyar Kupa.

The Green Eagles head into their encounter with Real Betis having lost each of their last seven matches against Spanish opponents, most recently losing twice against La Liga giants Barcelona in the Champions League group stage last season, conceding eight goals in the process.

Ferencvaros have failed to win 20 of their last 23 matches in major European competitions and will likely be up against it again on Thursday night.

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After a slow start to the new campaign, Real Betis have looked stronger in recent weeks, and extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to five matches with a 2-0 home victory against Getafe last weekend.

A brace from William Jose – who has now scored four goals in as many La Liga matches this term – helped Manuel Pellegrini's men claim all three points and move up to seventh in the table, level on points with Barcelona in sixth and just two points behind the top four.

Earlier this month, the Green and Whites opened their account in Group G of the Europa League with a thrilling 4-3 victory at home against Glasgow giants Celtic.

Betis will be confident of securing another positive result on Thursday night as they are unbeaten in each of their last six away matches in the competition, keeping four clean sheets in the process. Their last defeat on the road was against Lyon in 2013, losing 1-0.

The Green and Whites have only faced Hungarian opposition once before in their history, beating Budapesti VSC both home and away in the 1997-98 Cup Winners' Cup.

Team News

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Ferencvaros will be able to welcome back midfielder Aissa Laidouni, who missed their opening group game due to suspension. The Tunisian is expected to start ahead of either Stjepan Loncar or Balint Vecsei.

The Hungarian hosts will, however, be without midfielder David Siger as he continues to recover from a ruptured knee ligament injury.

Attacking trio Ryan Mmaee, Franck Boli and Myrto Uzuni, who have scored 25 goals between them across all competitions so far this season, are all expected to start up front.

As for Real Betis, defenders Victor Ruiz and Youssouf Sabaly are ruled out with respective hamstring and muscle injuries, while Diego Lainez is also unavailable as the winger is suffering with a sprained knee.

After scoring twice at the weekend, Willian Jose will likely keep his place in the starting lineup ahead of Borja Iglesias, while star playmaker Nabil Fekir is set to start in the number 10 role just behind.

Arsenal loanee Hector Bellerin is expected to keep his place at right-back ahead of Martin Montoya, while Marc Bartra – who has now fully recovered from a muscle injury – could be handed a start at the heart of the defence alongside German Pezzella.

Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Wingo, Blazic, S. Mmaee, Civic; Zachariassen, Laidouni, Loncar; Uzuni, Boli, R. Mmaee

Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Bellerin, Pezzella, Bartra, Miranda; Carvalho, Rodriguez; Juanmi, Fekir, Juanmi; William Jose

We say: Ferencvaros 0-1 Real Betis

Even through there were a flurry of goals in the games involving both sides on the opening matchday, we can see a tight encounter played out in Hungary as the two teams will be keen to avoid defeat on Thursday night.

However, the Spanish visitors have the stronger side on paper and should have enough quality to break down Ferencvaros' backline to claim a narrow victory.