Betis looking to stop giant-killers Gramenet

Real Betis are determined to end third division Gramenet's dream of continuing their heroic run in the King's Cup when the two sides meet in the return leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday.

The Andalucians were somewhat fortunate to emerge from the first leg at Gramenet with a 2-2 draw, a trademark effort from Brazilian free kick expert Marcos Assuncao sparing the blushes.

But with two away goals in the bag and a vociferous home support on their side, Betis are confident they can take another step towards repeating their only other Cup triumph in 1977.

"If things go well this week we could move up into the Champions League places in the league and claim a place in the semi-finals of the Cup," said keeper Toni Doblas.

"I think that both targets are within our range."

Gramenet, a modest Catalan outfit, have already disposed of Primera Liga leaders Barcelona, Levante and second division Lleida in previous rounds and showed they were more than a match for Betis in the first leg when they fought back from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead before Assuncao's free kick.

Betis's city rivals Sevilla face a tough trip to Pamplona as they look to capitalise on their 2-1 advantage over Osasuna, which came courtesy of a controversial winner from Jesus Navas.

Fans on both sides of Sevilla are hoping for a possible derby in either the semis or, even better, in June's final.

In the other second leg match 23-times champions Athletic Bilbao travel to Valladolid on Thursday holding a 3-2 advantage after the second division side gave the Basque outfit a rough ride in the first leg.

Atletico Madrid play their rescheduled first leg match against Numancia on Wednesday after last week's game had to be postponed due to a frozen pitch. The two sides will meet in the second leg at the Calderon on February 16.