La Liga | Real Betis vs Real Madrid Preview: Teams News, Predicted Lineups & Key Stats

After a very successful 2019/20 La Liga campaign which saw Real Madrid coming out on top of the La Liga standings after a tight-fought race with fierce rivals Barcelona, it is safe to say that Los Blancos have not started the defence to their throne well enough.

Zinedine Zidane’s men took to the Reale Arena to face off against Real Sociedad but were unable to gain anything more than just a point after a goalless draw. The game did, however, witness multiple great individual performances from Martin Ødegaard, who made his first start for the club and Ferland Mendy.

On the other hand, Real Betis have kicked off their season in flawless fashion under new manager Manuel Pellegrini. In the two matches they have played so far, they have won 1-0 and 2-0 respectively, dominating both games effortlessly. The Chilean manager has implemented some different ideas in the team, which seem to have paid off so far.

Team News & Tactics

Real Betis

We expect Pellegrini to stick with the starting XI which he fielded against Real Valladolid, structuring his team in a 4-2-3-1. New recruit Claudio Bravo starts in goal after joining Real Betis on a free transfer from Manchester City. His experience will be essential against the defending champions.

Emerson and Alex Moreno will be given the responsibility to provide width from the back. They will flank the centre-half duo of Marc Bartra and Aïssa Mandi.

This back-four will be shielded by a double pivot of Guido Rodriguez and William Carvalho. The latter scored his first goal for Real Betis after joining the club two years ago from Sporting CP. To provide the creativity in the final third, Joaquin will occupy the no. 10 slot, in what has been a revelating change for the club thus far.

Man-in-form Nabil Fekir will take up the right-wing position, and will be paired up with Sergio Canales on the opposite side. Cristian Tello is in contention to start as well after an impressive cameo from the bench last week. Borja Iglesias and Antonio Sanabria will compete for the final spot, but the former is expected to nick it based on match sharpness.

(4-2-3-1): Bravo; Emerson, Mandi, Bartra, Moreno; Rodriguez, Carvalho; Fekir, Joaquin, Canales; Iglesias

Real Madrid

The one constant name in the Real Madrid attack for the past several years has been that of Karim Benzema, and Saturday will be no different as he prepares to lead the line for Zidane. Supplementing him, Vinicius Jr, and Rodrygo will take up the roles on the left and right respectively.

Marvin Park has been dropped from the Madrid side after making his debut last week and has been replaced by Lucas Vasquez.

Martin Ødegaard made his first start for Los Blancos, five years after joining, but could be dropped as Luka Modric is expected to take his place in a three-person midfield. Toni Kroos will act as the deep-lying-playmaker, pulling the strings of the team from the centre of the park, while Casemiro will shield the defence.

Speaking of which, there will be no changes to the Madrid back-four after their clean sheet against Real Sociedad. Marcelo has returned to full fitness, but to neutralise Betis’ attacking threat, Zidane will likely go for a more defensively solid option in Ferland Mendy. Dani Carvajal will play the same role on the right.

The last three pieces in this jigsaw that is Madrid come in the form of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos who will be paired up as the last outfield players, while Thibaut Courtois retains his spot as the first-choice goalkeeper.

(4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius

Key Stats

Real Madrid have lost just one of their last six away games against Real Betis. Although, the victory came in their most recent such fixture in March 2020.

In the last ten meetings between these two sides, Madrid have won just five, while Betis have won three (D2).
Real Madrid have failed to win against Betis in the last three games (D1 L2).

Zinedine Zidane and Manuel Pellegrini have met on two previous occasions (the 2015/16 Champions League Semis). Zidane has won one game, while one of them was a draw.

The meetings between these two sides see a lot of goals. In the last ten games, Madrid has scored 22, while Betis has scored 12, averaging 3.4 goals per game.