Real Betis vs Real Madrid

Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid head to the Estadio Benito Villamarin to take on top-four hopefuls Real Betis.

With headline performer Nabil Fekir injured for the rest of the season, Real Betis’ hopes of building on a hat-trick of league victories over bottom-half sides are dwindling. Curiously, the last time they recorded a hat-trick of league wins, non-other than Real Madrid stopped them in their tracks, doing so with a 2-1 triumph in the reverse fixture on matchday four. Avenging that defeat would see ‘Los Verdiblancos’ win four successive La Liga games for the first time since December 2021. But considering they’ve failed to win any of their last five top-flight meetings with Madrid (D2, L2) under current boss Manuel Pellegrini, Betis’ bid to tighten the noose on fourth-placed Atletico Madrid look rather faint. The fact they’ve only won once in their last six home league outings only reinforces fears in the Betis camp (D2, L3).

In the meantime, visiting Real Madrid suffered a morale-damaging 1-0 home loss to bitter rivals Barcelona in midweek Copa del Rey action, just days after sharing the spoils with a ten-man Atletico Madrid in a dramatic 1-1 La Liga draw. Despite only winning twice in their last four league matches (D1, L1), ‘Los Merengues’ start this round seven points below leaders Barcelona, meaning back-to-back titles for the first time in 15 years are still on the cards. But to back that claim, Carlo Ancelotti’s men must overcome a patchy form on the road that has seen them alternate between winning (4) and losing (3) on their last seven La Liga travels. With each of those four triumphs coming ‘to nil,’ breaking the deadlock could be essential.