Real Betis vs Real Madrid Prediction: Tough afternoon in store for Los Blancos

We have a sneaky good game in La Liga on Saturday afternoon where Real Madrid go on the road to take on Real Betis.

As always, we have our La Liga expert in situ and Mark Sochon provides his in-depth preview along with his Real Betis vs Real Madrid Predictions...

Real Madrid have a genuine test this weekend as they travel to the Benito Villamarin where Real Betis are defending an unbeaten home record.

This is a 15:15 kick-off on Saturday in the UK which unfortunately means it falls victim to the blackout and won’t be televised.

The visitors continue to be blighted by significant injury problems but they have done a good job of dealing with those issues to date. In fact, they are playing arguably their most convincing football of the season right now with five straight wins in all competitions and 17 goals scored with all of those victories coming by at least a two goal margin.

It’s true the calibre of the opposition has not been great of late, with their last two league games against strugglers Cadiz and Granada with the latter showing almost no ambition whatsoever under new management at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend in a game that saw Los Blancos rarely need to get out of first gear to claim a 2-0 win.

If that game was a stroll in the park, this should be anything but, with more than 50,000 Real Betis fans set to provide a hostile welcome at the Benito Villamarin.

Betis have been a really competitive outfit for a number of years now under the guidance of former Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini. They held Los Blancos to a goalless draw on this ground earlier in the year and anyone considering a punt on this game may want to consider that four of the last eight meetings overall have ended with 0-0 scorelines.

If anyone is going to produce a moment of magic to break the deadlock for the hosts here, it may well be a former Real Madrid player. Isco has been a resurgent force in the green and white half of Seville this season which has been good to see but also something of a surprise given just how off the pace he looked during his final years in the Spanish capital.

The 31 year old is the chief playmaker for his team and is perfectly suited to the advanced midfield role he is being asked to play. The hosts will most likely try to get him on the ball as much as possible here with Willian Jose, Ayoze Perez and 18 year old Assane Diao the main goal threats for a Betis side that has gone ten matches without defeat in La Liga.

Team News:

Real Betis’ plans for three points away to rock bottom Almeria last weekend were hampered by a really poor challenge from Hector Bellerin in just the 27th minute. The former Arsenal man received his marching orders in a game that ended goalless and Bellerin is suspended here as a result.

That does create a problem at right back for the hosts with Youssouf Sabaly already sidelined through injury meaning winger Aitor Ruibal is likely to fill in there which is far from ideal against a team of Real Madrid’s quality.

Betis also have problems in central midfield with Guido Rodriguez and William Carvalho also ruled out so they won’t be anywhere near full strength with Nabil Fekir, Claudio Bravo and Marc Bartra also nursing injuries.

Real Madrid are one of the few teams in the Spanish top flight who can claim to be worse off right now on the injury front. Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni are all still sidelined and at least five, if not all six, would ordinarily make Carlo Ancelotti’s best eleven.

The Italian is expected to recall Kepa in goal here after Andriy Lunin kept his place for the routine win over Granada. Carvajal’s injury may see Lucas Vazquez get a run of games at right back.

Meanwhile Ancelotti has decisions to make further up the pitch which may have a big impact on just how open this game is. The riskier strategy would be to start Rodrygo, Joselu and Brahim Diaz as was the case last weekend, although it’s possible one of the latter two may drop out to accommodate an extra central midfielder, most likely Luka Modric or former Betis man Dani Ceballos.

Match Odds:

Real Madrid are the 4/5 favourites to claim the win, while you can back Real Betis to win at 16/5 and the Draw at 11/4. If you can see a repeat of the four recent goalless matches between this pair, you can back it to finish 0-0 at 11/1.

Those looking for a bit more excitement may be drawn to the goalscorer markets where La Liga top scorer Jude Bellingham is 11/2 to score first and 9/5 to score anytime.

Meanwhile Isco, who has scored three times since joining Betis in the summer, is priced at 9/2 to score anytime against his former employers. Striker Willian Jose feels like the most likely candidate for a home goal though with the Brazilian available at 15/2 to score first and 12/5 to score anytime.

Bet 1 - Draw @ 11/4

Six of the ten games in this current Betis unbeaten streak have been drawn and they’d almost certainly settle for a repeat here. They should give this injury-ravaged Real Madrid side a much sterner test than they’ve had in recent weeks and an experienced campaigner like Pellegrini is capable of devising a plan that should make this a really tough game for the visitors.

You can back Real Betis or Draw Double Chance at Evens but particularly with key midfielder Guido Rodriguez missing and problems at right back, it’d be a real surprise to see Betis win this game, so backing the Draw at 11/4 looks a better bet.

Bet 2 - Rodrygo to Score Anytime @ 13/8

It has taken something pretty special to upstage Jude Bellingham this season, but Rodrygo has managed that in recent weeks with the Brazilian recovering from a slow start to the campaign to really hit form.

With Karim Benzema no longer around and Vinicius Junior injured, he appears to be thriving on the responsibility of leading the Real Madrid attack and the 22 year old is on fire right now with seven goals and four assists in his last five appearances.

It’s more than a month since he failed to score in a Real Madrid game and you back Rodrygo to score anytime at 13/8.

The team here at Betfred Insights provide plenty of Football Betting Tips throughout the week, so check them out on our main Football hub page...