Fornals: The Seville Derby Feels Like a Final – and the Streets Won't Let You Forget It

Pablo Fornals is a man in form, in love with Seville, and absolutely ready for derby day. The Betis midfielder has been speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Sevilla at La Cartuja, and he’s not trying to play it cool about what the fixture means.

The Derby Feels Different – And Everyone Knows It

Fornals was one of the standout performers in the first-leg derby earlier this season. He nicked the ball, drove into the box, did a lovely double shimmy to send the keeper the wrong way, and slotted it into the near post to get Betis up and running at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán. A proper goal, that. Manuel Pellegrini’s second league win over Sevilla since taking charge.

So yeah, he’s got a bit of history with this fixture already, and he’s clearly relishing the return leg. His take on the occasion? It’s basically a final, whether you like it or not — “because that’s how people make you feel on the streets.”

And honestly, fair enough. Anyone who’s been in Seville the week before a derby knows exactly what he means. There’s no escaping it.

Betis Are Hitting Their Stride

Fornals reckons the team are in a genuinely good place right now, and it’s hard to argue:

• He feels the squad have found a clear identity under Pellegrini
• They’ve been putting together a solid run of consistent performances
• The midfield, featuring Roca and Fidalgo alongside him, is clicking
• He specifically namechecked Fidalgo’s smooth integration — the Asturian came in with good rhythm from his previous club and has slotted straight in
• He also gave props to Nelson and Sergi for keeping the engine room ticking over

One thing that stood out was his mention of how the squad’s relative fitness has helped — they’ve not been ravaged by injuries in midfield, which means Pellegrini can keep picking similar line-ups and the lads are sharp in training.

La Cartuja? No Worries

There were a few raised eyebrows when Betis moved their home games to La Cartuja while the Benito Villamarín undergoes renovation work. But Fornals says any doubts have been well and truly put to bed. The fans have shown up in massive numbers every time, the atmosphere has been quality, and he’s fully expecting the place to be absolutely rammed on Saturday.

Life in Seville Is Sweet

Off the pitch, Fornals sounds like a man who’s landed on his feet. His kids are mad about the club, love the city, love their school, love going to matches. He’s even had a supporters’ club — a peña — named after him, though he did admit with a grin that it’s based in his wife’s hometown, so there might be a bit of a fix involved there.

But the main event is Saturday. He scored in the first derby. He wants to do it again. Whether he gets on the scoresheet or not, Fornals is going into this one with serious intent — and a Betis side that look like they mean business.