The Sevilla Press Doubts Antony's Starting Role

Real Betis Balompié

The schedule tightens for the Verdiblancos: they already have eleven matches in eight weeks confirmed and, if the team advances, that number could rise to fourteen games in less than sixty days. With the qualification to the Europa League quarterfinals — for the first time in their history — and the possibility of returning to the Champions League more than two decades later, the Chilean coach faces weeks of continuous decisions.

170

Antony
17.550.000€+1.010.000€    -

J1

MD

57

In this context, Pellegrini needs to be very precise with Antony, who the article itself identifies as the squad’s most decisive player, with 12 goals and 9 assists. The winger has been alternating many individual training sessions with few group sessions due to a pubalgia injury, and his high number of minutes — he is the third player with the most playing time on the team — requires managing his workload carefully for the rest of the season.

The warning already appeared at the end of March, when the coach left the Brazilian on the bench for two league matches against Getafe CF and Celta. Until then, Antony had started every league game except for the Sánchez-Pizjuán derby, which he missed due to suspension. The decision had a clear purpose: to save energy for the knockout round against Panathinaikos, in which he was decisive for the historic Betis qualification, delivering a great performance and a goal included at La Cartuja against the Greek side.

Rotations and choices between La Liga and Europe

After that European match, the ‘7’ started again at San Mamés, but his 45 minutes in Bilbao sent another message: he struggles to chain together back-to-back starts while managing his discomfort. With an average approaching two matches per week in the best-case scenario, the coach with the most matches in the club’s history will have to decide according to what criteria he manages his star, whether prioritizing the start of La Liga or the Europa League. In any case, the balance also seems to lean toward the goal of taking Betis back to the Champions League.

Fantasy stats of the player

Antony has accumulated 7 goals and 5 assists in his 24 games played so far. On Comunio, he has a market value of €17,550,000 and has earned 170 points, with an average of 7.1 points per game. On other fantasy platforms, his numbers are similar, for example 91 points on Biwenger or 161 points on LaLiga Fantasy DAZN.