Pellegrini: ‘Real Betis not favourites against Fiorentina’

Many consider Betis to be tipped for success, even though this is their first ever UEFA tournament semi-final.

“I don’t think we are the favourites, these are two teams in good form, so over the 180 minutes we’ll try to fight for the Final. We are not the favourites, I would not be upset at that, but I do feel the teams are very balanced,” Pellegrini told Sky Sport Italia.

Real Betis have made changes, with Romain Perraud and Aitor Ruibal given the nod as very attacking full-backs, while Abdessamad Ezzalzouli is preferred to Jesus Rodriguez upfront.

Kean on the bench for Fiorentina

As for Fiorentina, the major doubt was over centre-forward Moise Kean, who is not risked from the start after missing the last two games dealing with a family matter in Paris.

“Fiorentina are very dangerous when attacking, they have good technique and powerful strikers,” concluded Pellegrini.

“Even though Kean isn’t starting, Beltran and Gudmundsson are also very good, so we must be sure to defend and not just focus on attacking.”