La Liga: Real Test for Madrid in Andalusia

Real Betis vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid are aiming to get their first win of the new La Liga season this weekend when they visit Andalusia to face in-form Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin stadium

Manuel Pellegrini’s team is joint top of the La Liga table with two wins from two, while Los Blancos stuttered to a goalless draw in their opening fixture, so Zinedine Zidane’s champions will be determined to rack some points up sooner rather than later.

But Seville is not an easy place to go and Betis have their tails up.

 

Talking Points

Pellegrini’s Real Betis is a different proposition

Since his appointment in July, Manuel Pellegrini has begun to usher in a new era at the Benito Villamarin. Los Verdiblancos struggled to an uncomfortable 15^th placed finish last season and were only five points above the drop zone; but the way they have started this term, our La Liga 2020 betting tips won’t be predicting another relegation scrap any time soon.

The Chilean head coach brings with him an impressive CV, including a Premier League title with Manchester City, and his side has played with confidence in their two opening games, picking up six points and two clean sheets, starting with a 1-0 win over Deportivo Alaves and following that up with a well earned 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid.  In his second season at Betis, Nabil Fekir is Los Verdiblancos’ most dangerous player and he was on target against Valladolid. The striker picked up a knock in that game but should be fit to face Los Blancos and his pace and trickery could cause the champions some problems. Alongside seasoned striker Borja Iglesias and Sergio Canales, Fekir makes up a dynamic three in attack.

Real Madrid need points on the board

While Betis have started in superb form, Los Blancos looked a little rusty as they dropped two points in their opening match away to Real Sociedad, and they will aim to recapture the fantastic form which brought then the title last season, winning nine of their last ten games. This is a tough assignment but if they can pick up all three points ZZ’s team have two more winnable games against Real Valladolid and Levante on the horizon, so they could gather some momentum.

Fail to win and they might be in a catch-up position rather earlier than they’d hoped.

The Madrid giants have struggled to bring players in through the summer but now that Gareth Bale has gone to Spurs there is more clarity around the Santiago Bernabeu. But Zidane could be without some big players on this trip to Andalusia. Eden Hazard, who put in some fine performances in the run-in to the 2019/20 season, once he had recovered from injury, is sidelined again with an ankle niggle and is unlikely to feature, while Marco Ascensio is struggling to shake off a knee injury.

There is better news for Isco, who is back in full training, and he could feature if he passes a late fitness test. If not, then 2020 top scorer Karim Benzema will be supported by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo.

Here at SBOTOP, we’re backing Real Madrid, at odds of 1.85 to retain the La Liga title, with Barcelona at 2.40 and Atleti at 9.00. But if they fail to beat Betis and Barca start their campaign with a victory over Villarreal, then we could see a fairly quick shift in the prices.

 

History

History favours Los Blancos, who have won 24 of the 49 meetings between these two teams, with 11 wins for Betis and there have been 14 draws.

But Los Verdiblancos have faired well against Real in recent times and are unbeaten in the last three encounters, winning 2-1 in this game last season as Brazilian defender Sidnei scored a stunning goal.

And Pellegrini’s side is on a winning streak of five matches.

 

Betting Tip

	Real Betis vs Real Madrid	Double chance Betis or Draw @ 1.87
	September 27, 03:00 (GMT+8)

Can Zinedine Zidane mastermind a win to end Betis successful run? Well the Asian Handicap odds suggest he can but it will be tight. The hosts are at 2.07 with a +0.50 goal advantage while Los Blancos are at 1.82 with the -0.50 handicap.

But I’m edging towards another frustrating 90 minutes for the champions, against a side in good form and with a potent attack.

It’s a big weekend for Spanish football, with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid both making an opening appearance, so we’ll be back again with all the latest La Liga 2020 news and updates as the action unfolds.

A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR () BETS ARE WORTH:
= €20 (Highly confident)	= €10 (CONFIDENT)	= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)

Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.

 

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