It will be our first pre-season trip to Ireland since August 2018, when we played out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea before winning on penalties.

It will be our first ever match against the Seville-based side and ahead of the match, we've taken a closer look at our Spanish opponents.

THE HISTORY

Founded by students as Sevilla Balompié back in September 1907, the club adopted the name Real Betis Balompié in 1914.

Betis' one and only league championship came in 1934/35, finishing one point ahead of Real Madrid. Having suffered numerous relegations since, Betis have been a mainstay in the top flight since winning the Segunda Division in 2014/15. 

The have won three Copa del Rey titles, the most recent being a dramatic penalty shootout against Valencia in 2022. Manager Manuel Pellegrini has guided Betis into European competitions in each of the past five seasons, including reaching the Europa Conference League final in 2025, losing 4-1 to Chelsea.

THE STADIUM

Real Betis' traditional home, Estadio Benito Villamarín, is currently under renovation, which is due to be completed in 2028.

In the meantime, the Seville side are playing at the Estadio La Cartuja. The stadium holds 70,000 supporters and is the fourth largest in all of Spain.

La Cartuja regularly holds international matches for the Spanish national team, as well as being selected to host four games at Euro 2021.

Our pre-season match against Betis will take place at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Opening in 2010, the stadium can house more than 51,000 supporters, with our last trip there coming in 2020 in the Europa League.

LAST SEASON

It was a fine campaign for El Glorioso, who finished in fifth position, which was enough to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League. 

This will be Betis' first outing in the Champions League since 2005/06, when they finished third in a group containing Liverpool, Chelsea and Anderlecht.

In 2025/26, Betis finished on 60 points in LaLiga and reached the quarter-finals of both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Europa League.

THE MANAGER

Manuel Pellegrini has been in charge at Real Betis since 2020, overseeing a successful reign at the club.

In just his second season at the club, the 72-year-old guided Betis to the Copa del Rey title, defeating Valencia for a third crown in their history. He also guided Betis to the Europa Conference League final in 2025, losing out to Chelsea in Wroclaw, Poland.

Many of you will be familiar with Pellegrini's work over in England. He managed Manchester City from 2013-16, winning the Premier League title and two League Cups. He also had a stint at West Ham United between 2018 and 2019.

THE SQUAD

After finishing fifth and qualifying for the Champions League, Real Betis have added three names to their squad for the 26/27 campaign. Fran Garcia comes in from Real Madrid, Uruguayan Facundo Bernal from Brazilian side Fluminense and goalkeeper Diego Conde on loan from Villarreal.

The squad features former Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin, who turned out more than 200 times for us across nine years. 

There's plenty of Premier League heritage within the team. Former West Ham United midfielder Pablo Fornals, ex-Manchester United winger Antony, as well as Diego Llorente and Giovani Lo Celso, who represented Leeds United and Spurs.

Captain Isco is still pulling the strings for Betis at the age of 34. Cucho Hernandez, who spent time at Watford in 2021/22, netting for the Hornets against us, was Betis' top scorer last campaign.

RETURN TO IRELAND

Back in 2018, we ventured over to Dublin to face fellow Premier League opponents Chelsea in a pre-season clash.

Antonio Rudiger scored for the Blues before Alex Lacazette netted in stoppage time to send the game to penalties, where we prevailed 6-5, converting all of our spot kicks.

Two years later we returned to the Irish capital to face Dundalk in the Europa League group stages. Joe Willock, Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah netted, as well as a wonder strike from Mo Elneny to help us seal a 4-2 win and maximum points from our six group matches.

Our other pre-season trips to Ireland include a 6-0 victory over Bohemians at Dalymount Park in 1948, before returning in 1950 and 1962 to face the same opponent. We returned again in 1986 to face Shamrock Rovers and Waterford before facing Bohemians again in 1989 and finally Shelbourne in 1992.