Betis, Villarreal aim to book places in Europa League last-32

MADRID, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Villarreal and Betis can both assure their places in the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday night with Villarreal at home to Panathinaikos, while Betis travels to the Czech Republic to face Sparta Prague.

Villarreal's unconvincing 2-1 win against Maccabi Haifa behind closed doors in Cyprus a fortnight ago may have cost former coach Pacheta his job, but it has left them s