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European football returns this week and will see Zenit St. Petersburg host Real Betis at the Gazprom Arena on Thursday evening in the playoff round for the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League.
Zenit St. Petersburg participated in the UEFA Champions League earlier in the season. Placed in a group with Malmo, Juventus and defending champions Chelsea, the Russian outfit picked up just one win, a 4-0 victory over Malmo in their second game.
The home team ended the group stages of the UEFA Champions League with just five points from six games which then saw them drop to the Europa League.
Real Betis began their Europa League group stage run with back-to-back wins over Celtic and Ferencvaros before playing out a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in their third game. However, they lost two of their final three games in the group, consequently denying them automatic qualification for the last 16 of the tournament.
Real Betis' furthest run in the European competition came back in the 2013-14 season when they made it to the last 16 where they eventually lost to Sevilla on penalties.
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Betis Head-to-Head
Thursday's game will mark the first official meeting between Zenit St. Petersburg and Real Betis. The two sides have only ever met once in a friendly clash back in 2015 which the Russian outfit won 3-0.
Zenit St. Petersburg Form Guide (All Competitions): W-W-W-W-D
Real Betis Form Guide (All Competitions): W-W-L-W-W
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Betis Team News
Zenit St. Petersburg
Wendel is out with an injury and is not expected to play on Thursday.
Injured: Wendel
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Real Betis
Claudio Bravo and Victor Camarasa have both been ruled out with injuries and will not play in Thursday's game. Sergio Canales is recovering from an injury and may not be available for selection while Nabil Fekir is suspended.
Paul Akouokou and Martín Montoya have both been excluded from the 24-man squad and will be absent as well.
Injured: Claudio Bravo, Victor Camarasa
Doubtful: Sergio Canales
Unavailable: Paul Akouokou, Martín Montoya
Suspended: Nabil Fekir
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Betis Predicted XI
Zenit St. Petersburg Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): David Byazrov; Aleksei Sutormin, Dmitri Chistyakov, Dejan Lovren, Douglas Santos; Magomed Ozdoev, Wilmar Barrios; Malcom, Claudinho, Andrey Mostovoy; Artem Dzyuba
Real Betis Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva; Héctor Bellerín, Germán Pezzella, Marc Bartra, Alex Moreno; William Carvalho, Edgar Gonzalez; Cristian Tello, Andres Guardado, Juanmi; Willian José
Zenit St. Petersburg vs Real Betis Prediction
Zenit St. Petersburg are undefeated in their last 13 outings across all competitions and are unbeaten in their last seven home games.
Real Betis are in good form as well, with just one loss in their last nine games across all competitions. They have been prolific in front of goal this season and are the fifth-highest scoring side across Europe's top five leagues. We expect the visitors to win this one.
Prediction: Zenit St. Petersburg 1-2 Real Betis
