Real Madrid vs Real Betis Prediction: Back Mbappe to have plenty of shots

The 20:30 Sunday night kick-off live on Premier Sports 1 in La Liga comes from the capital as the reigning champions face-off with Real Betis.

Our Madrid-based La Liga Betting Expert believes that their big summer signing may well take plenty of attempts on goal. Check out all his Real Madrid vs Real Betis predictions in his full match preview below...

It’s a fourth outing in La Liga for the Kylian Mbappé project at Real Madrid this weekend, and it’s fair to say it hasn’t been the electric start that followers of Los Blancos would have been hoping for.

Despite netting on debut in the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta, the Frenchman is yet to score in La Liga and Carlo Ancelotti’s side have dropped points in two of their three league matches to date.

The most recent was a 1-1 draw at Las Palmas on Thursday which saw Vinicius Junior salvage a point from the penalty spot. Ancelotti opted to rest Dani Carvajal and Rodrygo for the game, and while they did create enough opportunities to have come away with the win, a draw against one of the relegation favourites was not what they wanted heading into a tricky weekend fixture.

Real Madrid have really struggled in home games against Real Betis in recent years. Four of the last five meetings at the Santiago Bernabéu have ended 0-0 with Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini continuing to find ways to frustrate his old club.

It’s not as though they simply park the bus on every visit, with Pellegrini’s preference being that his teams look to keep the ball, but we’ve certainly seen a pragmatic approach to this fixture from Betis, and it has produced good results.

With Real Madrid struggling to exert their usual dominance on league fixtures so far this season, Betis will certainly fancy they can compete again on Sunday. It’s plain for all to see that the link-up play between Mbappé, Vinicius and Rodrygo hasn’t quite clicked yet in this new system with the former PSG man operating as the central striker.

With so much focus on Mbappé and the forward-line, it has perhaps been overlooked slightly that Real Madrid are also in the process of moving on from the now retired Toni Kroos who was so influential in midfield over the course of the last decade.

From a neutral perspective, those processes have the potential to serve up a much more exciting Spanish title race this season, and Los Blancos already have ground to make up on Barcelona.

As for Betis, they’ll most likely be targeting one of the lesser European places again, having finished 7th and qualified for the Conference League last season. They’re into the new league phase of that competition having cruised to a 5-0 aggregate win over Kryvbas of Ukraine in the play-off round over the past fortnight.

That tie is the reason they’ve only played two league games to date. Both ended in draws, with Girona taking a point from the Benito Villamarín on the opening matchday, while Betis drew 0-0 in their second match away to Alavés.

A lack of available attacking options has been a big issue in their opening two fixtures and has contributed to them only scoring once so far in La Liga. They were forced to use Aitor Ruibal, a player who mostly operated as a full-back last season, as their striker in those matches.

That won’t be a long-term solution though. They’ve added 19-year-old forward Vitor Roque on loan from Barcelona, while there’s a lot of excitement in the green and white half of Seville over the return of Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentine played the best football of his career for Betis during the 2018/19 season and completed a deadline day move from Tottenham on a four year deal.

Team News: 

After a bit of midweek rotation, Ancelotti is expected to return to what he sees as his best available eleven. That should mean a return for Rodrygo on the right flank, with the main doubt being over whether it’s Luka Modrić or Arda Güler for the third midfield role.

Eduardo Camavinga, Jude Bellingham and David Alaba are still injured, while there were no late transfer additions at the Bernabéu, meaning they are going to be a bit short in terms of depth at centre-back again.

As for Betis, new arrivals Vitor Roque and Lo Celso could be in the squad, but they may not be considered ready to start. There was also one notable departure as the window shut, with Nabil Fekir departing to join Emirati side Al Jazira.

Key man Isco remains sidelined through injury so won’t feature back on his old ground. The visitors are also missing centre-back Marc Bartra and striker Cédric Bakambu.

Real Madrid vs Real Betis Odds

Despite their slow start to the season, Real Madrid head into the game as the 1/4 favourites, with the Draw at 5/1 and Real Betis available at 10/1 to upset the defending champions.

A 0-0 draw is priced at 16/1, a bet that has landed four of the last five times the clubs have met in the Spanish capital. Given that, Under 2.5 goals may also appeal to some punters at 11/8, while Under 3.5 goals is on offer at 4/7. You can back Both teams to score - No at 4/5.

Los Blancos are priced at 21/20 to win the game to nil, while you can back Real Madrid to win and Under 3.5 goals at 11/10.

If you’re expecting a bit more action, you can back Mbappé to break his La Liga duck, and score first at 11/4 or anytime at 8/11. Meanwhile, Vinícius Júnior is on offer at 11/10 to score anytime.

From a Betis perspective, Chimy Ávila and Junami are seen as their most likely goal threats. Both are available at 4/1 to score anytime. Pablo Fornals could be a better option at 8/1, given he’s much more guaranteed of his place in the starting eleven. 

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

Bet 1 - Under 3.5 goals & Double chance - Real Madrid or Draw @ 8/11

The recent history of this fixture is hard to ignore. Real Madrid have failed to score in five of their last six home games against Betis and they always seem to struggle to break down Pellegrini’s side in this fixture.

With the transition to this new-look attack still ongoing and experiencing some teething problems, we probably shouldn’t expect a goal-fest on Sunday night.

Betis are going through their own process of big changes in attack though and it’s hard to see where an away goal will come from in this game, with Pellegrini sure to be very happy with a point again on this ground.Given that, I’m using the #PickYourPunt tool to back Under 3.5 goals and Double chance - Real Madrid or Draw at 8/11.

Bet 2 - Kylian Mbappé to have 5+ shots @ 10/11

While Mbappé is yet to open his La Liga goal account, that hasn’t been for the want of trying. He has averaged 5.7 shots per game in the Spanish top flight so far, which is two more than any other player in the division heading into matchday four.

He had nine attempts on Thursday night at Las Palmas without scoring and also averaged 4.8 shots per game for France at Euro 2024, scoring only once.

It’s clear that the striker hasn’t quite found his range this summer, but that’s very unlikely to deter him from having a go and I’m backing Mbappé to have 5+ shots at 10/11 in this game.

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...