Getafe vs Real Madrid Prediction: Bet on plenty of booking points

It was last minute drama for both Barcelona and Real Madrid at the weekend, with both sides getting vital goals deep into added on time. Barca play on Tuesday with Real travelling to Getafe on Wednesday evening. ITV4 will show the game on UK TV with kick-off set for 20:30

Our La Liga Betting Expert is here with his preview of the match and Mark thinks it could be low-scoring with referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez having a busy evening. You can check out his Barcelona vs Real Mallorca Predictions and two Best Bets below...

You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Real Madrid make the short trip to the Coliseum on the edge of the Spanish capital to take on Getafe in La Liga on Wednesday night. This game is live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV4 with kick-off at 20:30.  

It's an important match for the visitors who need the three points to stay in the hunt for the league title. However, Carlo Ancelotti is still expected to rest players with one eye on this weekend's Copa del Rey final clásico in Seville.  

Los Blancos head into this match after one of their most convincing performances in recent weeks. They had much the better of the game against an admittedly much-changed Athletic Club, and were good value for their victory, although it didn't come until the 93rd minute when Fede Valverde thumped in another screamer to add to his growing collection.  

It was a good response to their tame Champions League exit against Arsenal, with Madrid enjoying much greater control in midfield against La Liga's fourth-placed side, while Thibaut Courtois finally had a quiet day at the office, with the Belgian only facing three shots in the match, and needing to make just the one save.  

As unconvincing as they've been over the past couple of months, the defending Spanish champions have still managed to win five of their last six matches in the league. All of those victories came via just one-goal winning margins though, and they've now gone 13 games in all competitions without winning by more than a single goal.  

That's not good enough when you're Real Madrid and inevitably there has been criticism directed at not only Ancelotti, but a number of their senior players, with the injured Kylian Mbappé the latest to be whistled when his face appeared on the big screen on Sunday night.  

They'll know exactly what to expect from a combative Getafe side on Wednesday. These fixtures are invariably tight, with eight of the last nine meetings between the clubs serving up two or fewer goals.  

There's little reason to expect this to be any more open, with Getafe currently boasting the third-best defensive record in La Liga this term. They've let in just 29 goals in 32 games, two fewer than Real Madrid and three less than leaders Barcelona. 

That record will be of little surprise to anyone who has followed Pepe Bordalás and his teams over the past decade. Now deep into his second spell as Getafe boss, the 61-year-old is doing a stellar job once more, with Los Azulones currently sitting comfortably in mid-table and not completely out of the running for a European place.  

Their form has been a bit patchy of late though, with three wins and three defeats from their last six outings in La Liga. Their hopes of sealing a return to European football have been dealt a double blow over the past fortnight though by defeats against two bottom-half teams.  

They were surprisingly beaten 3-1 by Las Palmas in their last home match, before a 1-0 defeat at Espanol last Friday. La Liga fans will also not exactly be stunned to learn that disciplinary issues have hampered Getafe in recent weeks, with Bordalás' side reduced to 10 men in four of their last eight matches.  

Team News:  

Christantus Uche has been responsible for two of those Getafe red cards, and he's suspended here following his latest sending off at the RCDE Stadium. The only other absentees for the home team are full-backs Diego Rico and Allan Nyom who are both injured.  

As for Real Madrid, they came through their weekend game without picking up any fresh injuries, but the visitors will still be missing Mbappé here, along with defenders Ferland Mendy, Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal.  

The expectation is that we'll see a fair amount of rotation from Ancelotti, with at least five changes from the Athletic game likely. He'll want to manage the workload of the likes of Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo ahead of the cup final, so we could see some of those players drop to the bench. 

Brahim Díaz and Arda Güler could also rotate into attacking positions, while there's even a chance we could finally see Endrick get a start in La Liga after 18 substitute appearances so far for the young Brazilian.  

Getafe vs Real Madrid Odds

Despite likely rotation, Real Madrid are still the 4/5 favourites to leave the Coliseum with three points. You can back the Draw at 13/5, while Getafe are on offer at 18/5 to upset their neighbours and do Barcelona a huge favour in the process.  

The visitors are priced at 9/5 to win the game to nil, while you can back Real Madrid to win and Under 3.5 goals at 11/8. Draw/Real Madrid may also appeal at 7/2 in the Half-time/Full-time market, given the strong bench we're likely to see from Ancelotti.  

Getafe will sense they have a real chance in this game though, and they can be backed to win either half at 8/5. You can also back Getafe to score over 1.5 goals at 11/4 if you can see the visitors being vulnerable defensively again. 

Punters may want to wait for Real Madrid to name their starting lineup before diving into the goalscorer markets here. There's a great deal of uncertainty on that front, but you can take your pick in the Anytime Goalscorer market with Vinícius priced at 9/5 and Endrick at 15/8, while Bellingham and Rodrygo are both available at 12/5. 

From a home perspective, Juanmi has tended to lead the line in recent weeks and he's on offer at 9/1 to score first and 16/5 to score anytime. Getafe's top scorer is midfielder Mauro Arambarri who is available at 4/1 to get on the scoresheet. 

Bet 1 - Under 1.5 goals (first half) & Over 49.5 booking points (90 mins) @ 6/5 

With Real Madrid likely to rest some of their attacking stars, and with Getafe having another solid season defensively, this fixture looks likely to follow the recent trend of this match-up and not serve up many goals. 

At the very least, the hosts will fancy their chances of holding firm in the first half which would likely force Ancelotti to use his bench after the interval. 

There's also the potential for this derby match to get a bit niggly, and punters should be aware that eight red cards have been shown in the last nine Getafe matches. 

Given that, I'm using the Bet Builder to back Under 1.5 goals (first half) and Over 49.5 booking points (90 mins) at 6/5. 

Bet 2 - Both teams to score - No @ 10/11 

Real Madrid head into this game after back-to-back 1-0 victories in La Liga. With Dani Ceballos fit again, they now have their full complement of midfield options which is making it a bit easier for Ancelotti to rotate and maintain a bit more control in the centre of the park which had been a problem area previously. 

That in turn is helping to protect the back four, and while you sense the top teams will still be able to find a way to expose Real Madrid's weaknesses, what's likely to be a cautious Getafe side may find it difficult to create too much in this match. 

Without Mbappé, there's no guarantee that Madrid's misfiring forward players are going to have a great deal of success either though, and I'm backing Both teams to score - No at 10/11.