Madrid, Dec 10 (IANS) Celta Vigo, Real Betis, and Rayo Vallecano return to European action on Thursday, with Betis and Celta seeking to secure top-eight spots in their Europa League groups and Rayo needing a win in the Europa Conference League to avoid going through a playoff round.

Betis sit fifth in their Europa League group ahead of their visit to Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia.

Coach Manuel Pellegrini is expected to freshen his side after a 5-3 home defeat to Barcelona at the weekend, with Cedrik Bakambu, Junior Firpo, and young winger Pablo Garcia among those in line to start. With Betis not playing again in La Liga until Monday against Rayo, wholesale changes remain unlikely, reports Xinhua.

Celta travel on the back of Sunday’s standout 2-0 win away to Real Madrid, secured by a brace from Williot Swedberg. Coach Claudio Giraldez is set to start Swedberg at home to Bologna, with Ferran Jutgla and Iago Aspas also expected to feature as he rotates his attack.

A surprise defeat to Ludogorets two weeks ago has left Celta with work to do to confirm a top-eight finish, and three points against a rival one point behind would be significant.

Rayo’s limited squad has been tested by its European schedule, with the final two Conference League group games to be played over the coming week. After a 1-0 league loss to Espanyol and a setback in Bratislava, Rayo visits Jagiellonia Bialystok, where coach Inigo Perez is likely to make several changes. Midfielder Unai Lopez is certain to start as he is suspended for next weekend’s league match.

The 2025–26 UEFA Europa League is the 55th season of Europe’s secondary club football tournament and the 17th season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League.

The final will be played on May 20, 2026, at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey.

After five matches, France’s Lyon currently share the top spot with Midtjylland of Denmark and Aston Villa of England at 12 points. Real Betis are sharing the fourth spot with SC Freiburg and Ferencváros of Hungary on 11 points.

–IANS

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