Europa League: Real Betis vs Feyenoord! Up to 13 players absent, how severe are the visitors’ injuries?

Our first topic today isthe Europa League clash: Real Betis vs Feyenoord!

Feyenoord’s squad announcement gave me chills.

They are really missing far too many players...

Their ace striker Ueda Ayase, second top scorer Stengs... numbers 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11... plus winter newcomers Deyler (Fortuna Sittard) and Saint Juste (Sporting Lisbon)...A total of 13 players are out?

This injury situation is outrageous, even worse than Napoli’s yesterday! No wonder coach Van Persie said he has never experienced such an extreme scenario before.

My biggest concern is the central defense.

They don’t have a single first-team level center-back available.

There are only two center-backs in the squad, both youngsters!

Number 43, Pragic, was just recently promoted to the first team; in his only European start, Feyenoord conceded 4 goals to the Romanian star team.

Number 72, Hakim, has never played a single professional match in his life, not even one minute!

Feyenoord has to rely on these two youngsters to face Betis away?

Betis’ weakness is their aging starting lineup and relatively poor athleticism.

But their strength is that this group of veterans has played together for many years, and the coach, Pellegrini, has been in charge for six years, resulting in extremely smooth teamwork.

Moreover, these veterans are very skilled, experienced, and agile, likely capable of outplaying the two young defenders.

Real Madrid and Barcelona both conceded goals against Betis, with Barcelona letting in 3; could Feyenoord’s two youngsters be stronger than those giants?

In fact, Feyenoord’s defense is quite poor.

In their last match at home against Heracles, the bottom team in Eredivisie, although they dominated possession with 66%, the few attacks by Heracles posed huge threats, even more dangerous than Feyenoord’s own!Heracles scored 2 goals against Feyenoord!

Note: Feyenoord’s starting center-backs in that game were the main players! And it was still that bad?

So today? Only two second-team youngsters remain, one even temporarily promoted to fill the gap; can the defense be any better?

Furthermore, Feyenoord’s other problems might be even more serious than injuries.

Clearly, Van Persie’s current coaching performance is unsatisfactory.

Besides, he has a bad temper and poor relationships with veterans like Bijlow, Hartman, and Stengs,even having a physical confrontation with key midfielder Timber.No wonder all these senior players want to transfer away.

But the problem is, Feyenoord is unlikely to sack him.

Becausethey only dismissed the previous coach Priske in October, paying several million euros in compensation; how could they fire another one a few months later and pay millions again?

General manager Klozen is unlikely to take such a risk because he would be responsible for the huge financial loss and might have to resign; better to keep things as they are. Given Ajax’s struggles, if Feyenoord can finish second in the Eredivisie, that would meet the supervisory board’s expectations.

Here’s another point:In a few days, they will face PSV Eindhoven in the big derby (Topper Derby).

In the Europa League, their chances to advance are slim; a draw means elimination, and even a win might not secure a top 24 spot.

Under such severe injury conditions, it might be better to conserve energy and focus on the Eredivisie; otherwise, if PSV humiliates them... that would be quite embarrassing.

So, although on the surface Betis has been losing recently and Feyenoord winning, making Feyenoord’s record look better,

in reality, Feyenoord has more problems.

Will Betis satisfy their fans? What do you all think? I look forward to them winning properly.

Alright, for today’s other matches, I will still send you my written opinions tonight. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch and understand the game,” see you there!

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