In any given season, the modern-day top flight in Spain has three stand-out contenders for the title and podium positions in the table.
Real Madrid are this year keeping up their end of the bargain, four points clear at the top and looking ready to keep the trophy in the capital city, but behind them comes not reigning champions Atletico Madrid, or perennial rivals FC Barcelona, but the two biggest teams in Andalucia: Sevilla and Real Betis.
While Julen Lopategui is overseeing a decent fight for the championship, LaLiga’s most impressive success story this season might just be three kilometres away at the Estadio Benito Villamarin - if Manuel Pellegrini can complete the job and guide Betis into the Champions League.
Ahead of a potentially defining and explosive weekend in Spain, the team’s central midfielder William Carvalho was in optimistic mood as he laid out exactly what it would mean if the Verdiblancos were able to seal a spot in Europe’s top competition - and what it will take to get there.
“We’re working hard as a team, everyone has a very high individual level and you notice it on the pitch,” he told The Independent and other media on a conference call.
“We have to go game to game, there’s a long way to go. It’s possible that at the end we’ve had a great season for us. If we can play in the Champions League it’s a victory for all the fans, the players and the club because it’s been ages since we’ve been there.
“We’ve got it in our heads but we have to go game to game and play each one as if it’s a final - it could be a fantastic season if we stay up there.”
‘A long way to go’ is putting it mildly at this stage of course, but perhaps the onus is on Betis to rack up the points as quickly as possible - they wrap up 2021/22 away to Real Madrid and play both Barcelona and Valencia in the final three weeks of the season, too. At the same time they’ll be aiming for domestic silverware - they are into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey against Rayo Vallecano - and face an intriguing Europa League tie against Russian side Zenit.
Before all that, though, there’s this weekend.
Betis are at home to Villarreal and another former Premier League manager in Unai Emery. While the old Arsenal boss is typically struggling away from home - just one win on the road so far - the Yellow Submarine have their own European ambitions to stay on track for.
In an increasingly congested part of the table, only nine points separate Betis in third to Athletic Club in ninth - consistency really is all-important.
On an individual level, Carvalho is showing exactly that more often this term and he credits a maturity in his own game and a good relationship with his manager for his improvement.
“I know what I can do to help the team and my team-mates. I’ve played with consistency this season and that’s all I can do. This year I’m playing much better because I’m in the team more. I’ll have to keep working hard to do the same.
“Pellegrini has had a lot of talks with me and he has a lot of confidence in me. I’m training well, with the players we have in midfield we work well together.”
The top-four battle could be further condensed, or even see a potential rival fall away, further north in LaLiga’s biggest weekend fixture: Barcelona at home to Atletico Madrid.
It’s fair to suggest the Camp Nou side are definitely improving under Xavi, slowly and not always entirely surely, but attacking reinforcements signed in January could prove pivotal. Atletico, meanwhile, added a couple of new full-backs, including Daniel Wass who will presumably fill Kieran Trippier’s boots on the right.
Either team taking the points will not only boost their top-four chances, but also internal confidence of doing so. There’s just a point between them ahead of kick-off and while both could yet snare top-four finishes, that would involve overhauling Betis across the next few months.
Carvalho, Pellegrini and the entirety of the Benito Villamarin will be desperate to ensure that doesn’t happen, starting with their first ‘final’ on Sunday.
