Mestalla hosts a clash of two heavily rotated sides, with Valencia's 5-3-2 earning a clean sheet in their opener while Betis's 18-shot salvo in a 1-0 win showed their attacking intent. Cucho Hernández and Antony provide the cutting edge for the visitors, but Valencia's defensive…
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Sign inValencia welcome Real Betis to the Estadio de Mestalla on Tuesday night for a rescheduled La Liga Round 1 fixture to finally get their 2026/27 campaigns underway. The match kicks off in Valencia just days after both sides were in league action, with Betis facing Real Sociedad on the preceding Friday and Valencia hosting Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Carlos Corberán remains without winger Luis Rioja, who sustained a right quadriceps muscle injury against Stoke City in pre-season. The club have stated he will undergo rehabilitation until clinical improvement is seen, with no confirmed return date.
Manuel Pellegrini’s defensive options are stretched to breaking point. Héctor Bellerín was caught by a stamp inside the first minute of Betis’ final friendly against Inter Milan and lasted only ten minutes before being replaced. With Aitor Ruibal still recovering from his own injury and set to miss the trip to Mestalla, Pellegrini has only one senior full-back available. Goalkeeper Diego Conde is also sidelined after dislocating his left shoulder in a collision with Diego Llorente during the Trofeo Ciudad de Granada; Álvaro Valles started in goal against Inter and is expected to continue.
Last season’s two meetings were tight. At Mestalla on November 9, 2025, Cucho Hernández put Betis ahead in the 74th minute before Luis Rioja levelled in the 82nd to salvage a 1-1 draw. The reverse fixture in Seville on February 1, 2026, went Betis’ way 2-1, giving the Verdiblancos bragging rights across the campaign.
Betis finished fifth last season with 60 points, 11 clear of a Valencia side that ended on 49 in ninth. That gap reflected Betis’ greater cutting edge across the season, but Pellegrini’s immediate problem is structural. With both Bellerín and Ruibal missing, the right side of defence is makeshift. Against a Valencia attack that will look to exploit width — especially if Rioja’s absence forces a reshuffle in the final third — that vulnerability could prove decisive.
The scheduling has been unusual. This is formally a Matchday 1 fixture, yet both clubs will already have one league result behind them — Betis against Real Sociedad and Valencia against Celta Vigo — meaning fatigue and any fresh knocks from those outings could reshape the available squads at short notice. Ticket prices for Mestalla’s final season were announced in mid-August, and the famous old ground will be determined to roar its side to an opening home win before greater tests arrive.
Valencia will look to make home advantage count against a Betis side nursing a selection crisis, but Pellegrini’s squad has the attacking talent — from Isco to Cucho Hernández — to punish any lapses. The night presents an early examination of both clubs’ ambitions.
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