Real Betis vs Real Madrid

Estadio Benito Villamarín is the venue as Real Betis and Real Madrid go head-to-head in a potentially goal-friendly La Liga contest.

Real Betis have opened their 2021/22 La Liga campaign with identical 1-1 draws against the likes of Mallorca and Cadiz after conceding first on each occasion. Those results tie in with Betis’ fighting spirit that has seen them avoid defeat in all but one of the last nine top-flight fixtures in which they conceded the opening goal (W3, D5). Going back to April, ‘Los Verdiblancos’ have established themselves as somewhat ‘stalemate specialists,’ having drawn nine of their 12 La Liga outings in that span (W3), with six of them yielding the identical 1-1 scoreline. Manuel Pellegrini’s men are unbeaten in their last nine home La Liga matches (W5, D4), prevailing by a single-goal margin in four of those five victories in that sequence. That said, they’ve lost four of their last five top-flight H2Hs as hosts (W1).

We could be in for a scintillating, high-scoring affair here, regardless of the outcome, as each of the last five La Liga meetings between these two sides in Andalusia has seen over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. That’s also well in line with Real Madrid’s early La Liga results this term (W1, D1), with both their opening top-flight fixtures featuring 5+ goals and both sides scoring. Action-packed second-half football is also well on the cards, with ten of the 11 goals scored/conceded across those two league fixtures coming beyond half-time. Re-appointed ‘Los Blancos’ manager Carlo Ancelotti has already helped Madrid extend their unbeaten run in road La Liga matches to 16 (W10, D6). Home and away, the visitors are undefeated in 20 top-flight outings (W14, D6), the longest ongoing run in Spain’s top tier.