Real Betis and Erik ten Hag's Manchester United were paired together in the Europa League's round of 16, but the Spanish team is in good hands when it comes to playing the Red Devils.
Former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini has cultivated an impressive record against the Premier League heavyweights and will hope he can orchestrate another triumph against Barcelona's conquerors in the play-off round.
As their teams drew 0-0 on Sunday in La Liga, Pellegrini and Carlo Ancelotti had a verbal altercation while making fun of Liverpool's convincing 7-0 victory over Manchester United earlier in the day at Anfield.
Before Thursday's first-leg visit to Old Trafford, The happiest of the two will be the Chilean. At the same time, Ancelotti's Madrid will now have to play a Liverpool team with a renewed With Champions League; they have more energy—the following week.
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Pellegrini, who managed Manchester City from 2013 to 2016 and then West Ham, has only lost three times in 13 matches against United and will aim to take advantage of their shocking loss and shaken confidence.
Becoming the first coach to defeat Premier League managers at Man United has changed four times. (David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer), He has gained five victories and five draws.
Pellegrini and Alex Ferguson's United played four 0-0 draws while at Villareal in the Champions League.
At Betis, optimism is high that Pellegrini and his squad can pull off a surprise.
The Betis team manager Alexis Trujillo said, "We must confront them, display humility, use personality, and create a problematic tie (for them)".
"taking part in the second game with the assistance of the crowd and being aware of what we must do to defeat our opponents is one of the crucial components".
"Betis supporters ought to be pleased with the significance of the tie. To see if we can advance in the return leg, we need to perform well at Old Trafford and keep our hopes up in the first leg".
- An Engineer
Pellegrini, better known as "the Engineer," made an impression on Spain's east coast between 2004 and 2009, leading Villarreal under the direction of Juan Riquelme to the Champions League semifinals in 2006 and second place in La Liga in 2008.
Pellegrini took over at Man City and won the Premier League in 2014 by defeating Liverpool after stops at Real Madrid and Malaga, both of which finished second.
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He was appointed to keep Pep Guardiola's seat warm by former Barcelona directors Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano.
He worked for Hebei China Lucky for two years. After departing in 2016, he returned to England with West Ham before becoming the manager of Real Betis in 2020, his 15th club.
By playing offensive, creative football against Valencia in the previous year's Copa del Rey championship game, the coach led Betis to their first trophy since 2005.
In Pellegrini's 100th La Liga game, Madrid ran into that wall on Sunday, failing to defeat the Andalusians.
Nabil Fekir and Sergio Canales, two of Betis' top creative players, were out with injuries, but Canales is expected to make a comeback on Thursday and was back in training with the squad on Monday.
Canales expressed his desire to participate in the European match.
The playmaker said last week, "One result influences the entire league. The three points versus Madrid are comparable to those who will face Mallorca or Villarreal later.
"I am calmer in La Liga, and I realize that we have a considerable distance to go before I can get to 100 per cent," the player said. The team, which features players like Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Casemiro, is still the favourite to defeat Betis.
Even though most of his club has yet to get a name outside of Spain, Pellegrini feels the Madrid tie proves that Betis can compete with any team.
"The team is always working to develop,Players are frequently absent for various reasons, thus those that are healthy must press on," stated the coach.
"This team has been (competitive) for a very long period, regardless of the opponent. Although Madrid put a lot of effort into today's match, we had the better chances".
