Granada vs Real Betis preview - Granada ready for elite return - 7M sport

Granada vs Real Betis preview - Granada ready for elite return



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Posted Saturday, August 27, 2011 by PA

Granada return to Primera Division football for the first time in 35 years when they entertain another newly promoted side in Real Betis.

Both sides have had their troubles off the field in recent months after being placed in administration but due to the complexities of the Spanish system this has not prohibited them from brining in a raft of new players ahead of their return to top flight football.

Former Portsmouth midfielder Hassan Yebda became Granada's 10th signing of the summer on Tuesday and he goes straight into the squad for the match.

One area of concern for Fabri Gonzalez however is up front with last season's top scorer Alexandre Geijo set to miss the start of the season with a dislocated shoulder and young Nigerian Odion Ighalo the only forward available to Gonzalez.

Betis are also in the hunt for a striker and have been linked with Roque Santa Cruz and Nikola Zigic in recent days but they should have top scorer in pre-season Jonathan Pereira fit after a neck injury caused him to miss training earlier in the week.

The Seville side lost 3-0 to Granada when they visited Los Carmenes last season and manager Pepe Mel is keen to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that cost them on that occasion.

"Both sides have changed very little," he said. "We have the same coaches and we know that last season we lost because we made three big errors. We dominated the game and we returned home without any points.

"That is the reality of what happened.

"We are excited to start the season and we have to get ready to start again. Unfortunately (due to the players' strike that postponed the first round of fixtures) we weren't able to play and now we have to start against another side who have returned to the Primera who will be in a euphoric state of mind."



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