Villarreal vs Real Betis: Perez Seeks First Win

Real Betis head to Estadio de la Ceramica on Monday chasing a third straight win in all competitions. Villarreal, under new boss Inigo Perez, are still chasing something far more basic: a first victory of the season.

Perez searching for a spark

Perez arrived with a glow around his name. He had just driven Rayo Vallecano to eighth place in La Liga in 2024-25 and taken them all the way to a Conference League final. That kind of résumé buys time. It does not buy points.

His Villarreal start has been rough.

Five games, no wins, and a team that cannot quite close out a contest. The Yellow Submarine opened the league campaign with back-to-back 2-2 draws against Racing Santander and Atletico Madrid, games that hinted at attacking threat but exposed a soft underbelly.

Then came the slide. Defeats to Alaves and Deportivo La Coruna stripped away early optimism and left Perez under pressure far earlier than he would have expected.

Europe offered no relief. In his first Champions League match as a head coach, Villarreal went to Germany and traded blows with Borussia Dortmund, only to fall 3-2. A Santiago Mourino header and a stoppage-time own goal still left them empty-handed. The margins were thin; the damage to confidence was not.

Now comes a pivotal week: Betis at home, followed by clashes with Malaga and Levante before a three-week international break. It already feels like a block of fixtures that could shape Villarreal’s autumn.

Perez does at least have one comforting line in his notebook. He has never lost to Betis as a manager: one win, four draws. That record, though, will be tested by a Betis side arriving with momentum and a clear idea of who they are.

Betis riding the wave

Manuel Pellegrini’s team have come out of the blocks fast. Four wins from five competitive matches in this 2026-27 campaign, and the headline result so far: a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in La Liga.

That was no one-off jolt. Betis carried that energy straight into Europe.

Back in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2005-06, they went to Lille and emerged with a wild 3-2 win. Marc Bartra, of all people, scored twice as Betis came from behind on two separate occasions. Each time they looked shaken, they responded.

Then Troy Parrott, the match-winner against Real Madrid, stepped up again. On his Champions League debut, he found the decisive goal, underlining his growing importance to Pellegrini’s attack.

The table reflects that surge. Betis sit fifth in La Liga, just three points off Barcelona and Real Madrid. A result at La Ceramica keeps them right on the shoulders of the early pace-setters.

History in this fixture offers more encouragement. Betis took four points from Villarreal last season, including a dramatic draw on their last visit to this stadium. On that day, Antony struck twice to haul them back from 2-0 down. That comeback extended Betis’s unbeaten run in league visits to Villarreal to four matches (two wins, two draws) since a 2-0 defeat in October 2021.

They know this ground. They know how to survive here, and often how to take more than that.

Team news: changes coming

Villarreal will likely be without Carlos Romero, while Juan Foyth is also expected to miss out after sitting out the last two matches through injury.

Between the posts, a new chapter begins. Peter Gulacsi, who replaced Luiz Junior for the narrow loss to Dortmund, is set to make his La Liga debut. His experience and authority could be crucial for a defence that has looked uncertain in key moments.

Perez is expected to rotate with the schedule piling up. Alex Freeman, Nicolas Pepe, Alberto Moleiro, Ayoze Perez and Gerard Moreno are all pushing to start, giving the coach options to tweak both structure and tempo.

For Betis, Aitor Ruibal remains on the comeback trail as he continues his rehabilitation from the knee injury that ended his previous season.

There is better news elsewhere. Abde Ezzalzouli and Diego Llorente should both be available, with Llorente set to play in a protective mask after breaking his nose in that statement win over Real Madrid. On the right flank, Brazilian winger Antony is expected to shake off illness in time to start, a significant boost given his impact in this fixture last term.

Villarreal possible starting XI: Gulacsi; Freeman, Navarro, Veiga, Cardona; Comesana, Saliba; Pepe, Gerard, Moleiro; Perez

Real Betis possible starting XI: Valles; Bellerin, Bartra, Natan, Garcia; Roca, Bernal; Antony, Isco, Fornals; Parrott

Prediction

Villarreal need this. Perez needs this. But need alone rarely wins football matches.

Betis arrive organised, confident and with match-winners spread across the pitch. Villarreal have enough quality to respond and should not be written off at home, especially with Gerard Moreno back in the frame and Gulacsi reinforcing the spine.

The pattern of Perez’s meetings with Betis, though, is hard to ignore. Tight, tense, and often shared.

Villarreal 1-1 Real Betis.

If that script holds, Perez will still be waiting for his first win in charge when the international break arrives – and the questions around his project will only get louder.