Real Betis v Real Madrid
Sunday 13th January 1945hrs
Football – Spain – La Liga
Pick: Under 2.5 goals
Bookmaker: 888 Sport
Odds: 13/10 (odds taken 23.30 GMT, Saturday 12th January)
Come kick-off in Seville on Sunday evening, the visitors could be 13 points behind leaders Barcelona meaning this is even more of a must-win. Continue reading for a match preview of Real Betis against Real Madrid, with a selected best betting tip.
Real Betis Preview
Having finished sixth last season, Betis are on course for another strong campaign and come into Sunday’s game against the current European Champions in seventh spot, but with a chance to reclaim sixth and also go to just a point behind their opponents should they win. The surprise defeat away to Huesca last week was Betis’ first since the end of November which indicates just how impressive their recent form has been. A major strength of this team since Quique Setien arrived in the summer of 2017 has been their home form. Betis finished with 10 wins at the Benito Villamarin last season and have won four this term, with just two defeats, and all four of this victories have been when keeping clean sheets. The highlight so far has been a derby win over Sevilla but if they can do similar against Real then it would be savoured every bit as much.
Real Madrid Preview
It just seems to go from bad to worse for Real Madrid at the moment with their hopes of wrestling the title from Barca fading by the minute. An astonishingly poor performance at home to Real Sociedad last week left resulted in them being on the wrong end of a 2-0 score line and sees them sitting in fifth spot going into their game with Betis on Sunday. They can jump back up to fourth with a win but there clearly remains a lot of issues amongst the squad and Santiago Solari appears unable to get the required motivation required, at least on a consistent basis. With Barca at home to Eibar shortly before this game, there is a distinct possibility they could be 13 points adrift and as much as it looks like their title hopes are over already, if they are a dozen plus points behind come the end of this weekend then they will most definitely be at the stage of focussing their efforts on other competitions.
Key-Facts – Real Betis v Real Madrid
- All four of Betis’ home league wins have come when keeping a clean sheet
- The home team can go to within a point of their opponents with victory
- Solari’s men have taken only a point from their first two league games of 2019
Real Betis v Real Madrid Betting Advice
The life support machine is just about on for Real Madrid but it is due to be switched off if they cannot take three points from Sunday’s difficult trip to Betis. Having started strongly when taking charge, Solari is now beginning to realise just how difficult coaching all these personalities and egos can be. 2019 has started really poorly for Real and having taken only point from their first two games and whilst they recorded a 3-0 win over Leganes in the Copa Del Rey in midweek, it’s results in La Liga they need. Betis would like nothing more than to add to Solari and Real’s woes, and they have proven capable of taking big scalps at home over the past two seasons.
The equivalent fixture last year proved to be one of the games of the season with Real running out 5-3 winners but I am anticipating a much tighter match this time around. There have only been 21 goals in Betis’ 9 home games with six of those containing two or less goals. Real do tend to be involved in high-scoring games on their travels but with four of their last five in the league ending under 2.5 goals, I’m predicting another low-scoring affair in Seville.
