Real Betis vs Real Madrid
What a difference a day makes in football.
On Thursday morning Real Madrid were preparing for a Copa del Rey quarter final against Barcelona at home, full of confidence. Carlo Ancelotti’s team is going well in the Champions League and La Liga and planning to track down an injury ravaged Barcelona in the run in.
And then they lost.
A first half own goal from Eder Militao and a disciplined Blaugrana ended Los Blancos’ six match unbeaten run, and now they face another tough test when they head to Seville to take on Manuel Pellegrini’s Real Betis.
Any fifth versus second game is going to be a cracker, but los Verdiblancos beat Elche last week to make it three wins on the bounce, while Los Blancos drew 1-1 in the Madrid Derby before losing their Copa del Rey home tie against Barcelona.
A packed 60,000 crowd at the Benito Villamarin will be at fever pitch and the Madrid giants need to show they can stand the heat.
Talking Points
Fekir out for the season
Pellegrini has some fine attacking players in his side, but he has been dealt a blow with the news that winger Nabil Fekir will be out for the remainder of the campaign having suffered a ruptured ligament during the 3-2 win over Elche. Willian Jose, who scored the winning penalty in the five goal thriller is likely to step into the starting line up in a front three alongside Juanmi and leading scorer Borja Iglesias.
With ten goals in the campaign Iglesias is joint fourth in the race for the Golden Boot and has again proved himself to be a real danger in the top flight. At 6ft 2in the 30 year old Spaniard is strong in the air and is lethal with both feet; he’s also made three assists this season and is sure to be a big player on Sunday.
Skipper Sergio Canales will play in a fluid role behind the front three and with four goals and three assists he too is having a productive campaign.
A good run of La Liga 2023 results has hauled Betis back into top four contention and they are not about to take their foot of the gas any time soon.
Madrid don’t want to wait for a win
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are entering a crucial phase of their campaign.
Los Blancos were frustrated by Atletico in the Madrid Derby last week but the La Liga 2023 betting odds took a slight shift in their favour when Barcelona managed to lose away to Almeria. Real Madrid are in to a SBOTOP price of 6.00 to wrestle the title from the grip of Barca who are at 1.10.
But then they went and lost when they had a chance to grab a psychological edge over their El Clasico rivals.
Momentum is so important at this stage of the season and, if they fail to beat a strong Betis side, Los Blancos will have gone three without a win; and Barca have a chance to extend their lead at the top to ten points when they entertain struggling Valencia at the Camp Nou. But as Liverpool discovered when they were thrashed 5-2 by Los Blancos last week, this is still a team which can be devastating when it clicks and the return of Karim Benzema has given them even more attacking threat.
The return to fitness of Rodrygo and the form of Federico Valverde are more reasons for Real to be optimistic; they just need to hold their nerve.
History
In terms of head to head meetings Los Blancos are well ahead of Los Verdiblancos with 27 wins to 11 in all competitions since 1995. Goals from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo gave Real Madrid a 2-1 win in the return at the Santiago Bernabeu, back in September, while Sergio Canales was on target for Betis.
Manuel Pellegrini is yet to get a win against Real Madrid since he took over at Betis, falling short five times already and Los Blancos have won five of their last six games at the Benito Villamarin, including a 6-1 hammering back in 2016.
In the light of Thursday night’s result there is little to choose between the teams’ recent form. Real Madrid have won four, draw one and lost one of the last six while Betis have won four and lost two.
Real Madrid are yet to draw away from home, winning nine and losing three on the road.
Betting Tip
Real Madrid are strong favourites to win this one, at odds of 1.90 while Betis can be backed at 3.97 to win and the draw is at 3.50.
Each of Betis’ last five games have yielded over 2.50 goals while Los Blancos have been free scoring, bagging 17 goals in their last six games.
Betis will have a real go at this…it’s going to be a cracker!
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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