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 Marescas 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.
