Real Betis will face Chelsea on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, at the Wrocław Stadium in Poland in the UEFA Conference League Final.
Although the UEFA Champions League final between PSG and Inter Milan is obviously getting a lot more attention and debate this week, it is fair to say that the encounter between Real Betis and Chelsea will surely be entertaining football, despite the difference in prestige between the two competitions.
In fact, Real Betis finished this season’s La Liga at the sixth spot with 60 points meaning that they will be playing in the UEFA Europa League next season.
Betis arrived at the UCL Final having surpassed a long and tiring UEFA Conference League journey that saw them face and beat all of Gent, Vitória S.C., Jagiellonia Białystok and finally Fiorentina.
On the other hand, under Enzo Maresca‘s management, Chelsea FC finished the Premier League in fourth place with 69 points, guaranteeing a ticket for UEFA Champions League football in the upcoming season.
Nevertheless, it is not certain if their results are good enough, especially considering the huge amount of money invested by Chelsea during the last couple of seasons.
Chelsea will surely welcome the UEFA Conference League title, as it will further save their season and be a starting point for additional successes in the upcoming campaign.
However, historically, the club’s ambitions are obviously higher than winning the UEFA Conference League and finishing fourth in the EPL.
At the same time, winning a European trophy will mean a lot more to Real Betis, who will be playing their first-ever European final.
That will represent a massive boost for them, but also enormous pressure for Manuel Pellegrini.
In this tactical preview of the UEFA Conference League final, we will present both teams’ expected formations, line-ups, and tactics, along with thoughts on how Enzo Maresca and Manuel Pellegrini must approach this match from an attacking and a defensive perspective.
The analysis will also identify the mistakes to avoid on such a crucial occasion.
Manuel Pellegrini Formation For Real Betis
Real Betis’ veteran head coach Manuel Pellegrini will most likely use his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation during this final.
He has been using it regularly this season since it fits his players’ abilities and Pelligrini’s attacking ideas.
Furthermore, it is improbable that Pellegrini tactics would resort to his secondary shape, the 4-4-2 formation, which he used this season on certain occasions, mainly because the team can attack better according to the 4-2-3-1 formation and use the wingers properly.
Even though the 4-4-2 would guarantee a bit more defensive balance, it restricts the attacking input of players like Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli, as this formation obliges them to execute more defensive duties and retreat further to mark opponents.
That might destroy the essence of Pellegrini’s attacking system with Los Verdiblancos, which is based mainly on the quick counter-attacking abilities of both wingers and their initial advanced positioning on both wings to anticipate the movement of defenders.
That said, Pellegrini can still resort to the 4-4-2 during the game, especially if he gets the desired advantage on the scoresheet and wants to protect his lead by organising his team differently to disturb Chelsea’s build-up and penetrations within his own half.
Regarding the Real Betis lineup, Pellegrini’s squad will most likely be lacking several vital players such as Chimy Ávila, Giovani Lo Celso, Fran Vieites, and Youssouf Sabaly.
In addition to these players, it is confirmed that Héctor Bellerín, Diego Llorente and Marc Roca will also be absent for this match.
Real Betis Predicted Lineup
Therefore, Pellegrini’s predicted formation will be as follows :
Pellegrini will have to go with Adrián for the goalkeeper role since he is the first-choice goalkeeper at the moment.
In defence, Aitor Ruibal is expected to start the match as a right-back, given that Sabaly’s possible participation is doubtful due to injury.
On the other flank, Ricardo Rodriguez can be a very good choice, but he needs to be very attentive to Jadon Sancho’s actions.
Rodriguez’s relatively slow pace can be a problem in one-on-one duels with his opposing winger.
The regular starting centre-backs, Marc Bartra and Natan, will probably retain their positions against Chelsea.
With Lo Celso’s expected absence, the midfield duo will most likely consist of Johnny Cardoso and Sergi Altimira.
Pablo Fornals can play instead of Altimira from the start, especially if Pellegrini changes his tactics and decides to opt for a more attack-minded lineup.
However, Altimira’s presence in Real Betis’ midfield would be very beneficial, especially from a defensive perspective, as it would guarantee more balance.
The attack will consist of the team’s new star, Antony, on the right wing, Abde Ezzalzouli, on the left wing, Isco, an advanced playmaker, and Cucho Hernández, the main striker.
That said, Cédric Bakambu remains a very useful weapon to play during the second half if Hernández gets tired, especially if Pellegrini decides to switch to the 4-4-2 formation with both Hernández and Bakambu as strikers.
Enzo Maresca Formation For Chelsea
For the Blues, Enzo Maresca will also try to impose his game by using the 4-2-3-1 formation, which was Chelsea’s most-used formation throughout this season.
Attention to Real Betis’ powerful and very agile wingers should be Maresca’s main concern in this game.
Knowing how to defend Real Betis’ dangerous counter-attacks will be the key to limiting their danger and allowing them to attack without real threats at the back.
Moreover, it is known that Real Betis rely a lot on counter-pressing inside their opponent’s own third.
Therefore, it will be very important to be attentive to this team characteristic during the build-up and to know how to play under pressure without committing mistakes.
An alternative solution would be to go for goalkeepers to the goalkeeper wings or the striker, avoiding Real Betis’ pressing plans and surprising them with a more direct and vertical attacking approach.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup
With the absences of players like Wesley Fofana, David Fofana and Omari Kellyman and the doubtful readiness of Christopher Nkunku, who has been suffering from a lingering hamstring problem, Maresca will be relying on the following line-up:
There will be no doubt about Robert Sánchez’s participation in the goalkeeper role as he is the team’s first-choice goalkeeper.
The defence will most likely consist of Marc Cucurella and Reece James on both flanks since both full-backs are excellent in their positions and can provide the needed attacking support.
Still, they need to remain attentive to their direct opponents on the wings since these duels are expected to be a match-decider.
For the centre-backs, Maresca has been leaning toward using the Levi Colwill–Trevoh Chalobah defensive duo on most big occasions this season.
Therefore, he is expected to start the match with these two reliable centre-backs at the expense of Benoît Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo, who are also two solid defensive choices.
If Maresca’s game goes as planned and Chelsea succeeds in scoring, he is expected to add one of the two centre-backs mentioned to reinforce the defensive line during the second half.
The midfield duo would most probably be comprised of Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo since both players are complementary and guarantee both defensive balance and extensive attacking support.
In attack, Maresca will most likely use Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho on the wings since they are the best available choices for these positions.
Cole Palmer would be the advanced playmaker playing behind striker Nicolas Jackson.
Both Pedro Neto and Tyrique George remain viable options, but they are not expected to start the match, though they can help during it.
UEFA Conference League Final Tactics: Attacking Plans & Mistakes To Avoid
For Real Betis, it will be essential to use their attacking strengths and try to exploit Chelsea’s weaknesses at the same time.
Real Betis certainly know that Chelsea have been vulnerable to counter-attacks and have struggled to deal with high balls into the box.
That’s why they will need to work on this aspect, using their quick and efficient counter-attacking from the wings and intensifying their crosses to the striker.
In fact, Real Betis will not be changing their attacking system by doing this, as they already rely heavily on counterattacks.
Real Betis Zones Of Control
The following graphic highlights their tendency to attack from the wings and to have more possession on both wings rather than inside the box.
Exploiting this in their favour by launching accurate crosses and penetrating quickly from the wings would be fruitful, especially if Antony and Ezzalzouli beat their direct markers.
Chelsea Zones Of Control
On the other hand, Chelsea’s zones of dominance graphic is quite telling as it shows that Chelsea tend to rely on the left-wing much more than the right one.
The graphic also highlights the fact that the team fails to be present and dominant inside the box and at the edge of the box.
Working on improving this would be very beneficial, attacking-wise, as the team does not lack efficient and dangerous attacking players.
Furthermore, intensifying the midfielders’ presence in that area would be impactful, too, as it would not only increase the chances of scoring but also make Chelsea more dominant inside the box, knowing that these midfielders are dominant in midfield, according to the graphic.
What is also positive for Chelsea is that they do not concede a lot of possession, especially in their own half, where they are dominant and have more possession.
That said, they can work further on improving their rate of winning defensive duels on both wings, as they do not have the advantage in that area, and that might represent a weakness to be exploited by Real Betis.
Real Betis can also rely on their striker Hernández’s excellent run of form and his ability to score thanks to headers, retreat, receive the ball, protect it, and try turning, running to the goal, and finishing.
He has succeeded in doing such solo efforts previously and can do so against Chelsea, especially because he has the physical strength to resist the defensive disturbance.
Abde Ezzalzouli & Antony Danger
Ezzalzouli’s secret weapon should not be underestimated.
Thanks to his pace, this winger can be crucial when he runs with or without the ball.
Just like Antony, he can cut inside to the box thanks to his agility and dribbling abilities or escape from marking and become an additional striker inside the box, as in the following goal action when Antony provided him with the assist.
Chelsea Set-Piece Exploitation
On the other hand, Chelsea should work on exploiting set-pieces in a crucial way since Real Betis tend to concede goals from set-pieces due to their poor defending on certain occasions, as Fiorentina were able to disturb them with such actions during the semi-finals.
Chelsea have the tools needed to succeed in punishing Real Betis with set-pieces and crosses, knowing that they do score a lot from crosses.
Moreover, relying on Sancho and Madueke’s shooting and creating numerical superiority on one of the wings would be one of the attacking solutions to threaten Real Betis’ goal as well, since Chelsea have successfully repeated this type of action.
Chelsea Numerical Superiority On The Wings
The following goal example highlights Chelsea’s ability to concentrate their play on the right wing and switch to the other with an early cross at the right time, meaning as soon as they notice Sancho being unmarked.
This paves the way for Sancho to score without problems.
The good thing for Chelsea is that they have quality players in almost all the attacking positions, and that’s what multiplies their attacking solutions.
Nevertheless, they should not fall into the trap of underestimating the opponent or avoiding preparing tangible attacking plans.
Real Betis appear to be a normal opponent but are actually tough to beat, especially in a single-match final game.
Conclusion
Chelsea will need to be mentally prepared for such a final after they achieved their seasonal target of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.
They must avoid being too relaxed during this match and take everything seriously, despite having secured Champions League football for next season, because Real Betis can be very dangerous, with players like Isco, Antony, Ezzalzouli, and Hernández capable of creating a threat at any time.
On the other hand, Real Betis will have to give more than 100% of their abilities to beat a tough Chelsea side.
Real Betis’s challenge will be to beat Chelsea in duels, avoid defensive mistakes in open play and especially during set-pieces, remain attentive to single players’ solo efforts throughout the match, and rely on counter-attacks as their attacking tool.
