Real Betis vs Real Madrid Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Real Madrid travel to Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday in a must win game if they are to keep pace with league leaders Barcelona.
The European champions come into this game on the back of a 2-2 draw at Villarreal and a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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With key players like Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale and Thibaut Courtois sidelined through injury, it promises to be a difficult evening for Santiago Solari against a miserly Real Betis.
Check out 90min’s preview of Sunday’s clash.
Where to Watch
When is Kick Off? | Sunday 13 January |
What Time is Kick Off? | 19:45 (GMT) |
Where is it Played? | Estadio Benito Villamarin |
TV Channel/Live Stream? | Eleven Sports |
Referee? | Hernandez Hernandez |
Team News
Real Madrid are without Kroos, who suffered a muscle tear on Wednesday and is expected to be out for up to three weeks, and he'll likely be replaced by Isco.
Courtois’ hip injury means Keylor Navas should start in goal, with new signing Brahim Diaz in line to replace the suspended Lucas Vasquez on the right of midfield.
Real Betis have no fresh injury concerns. Promising young left back Junior Firpo remains sidelined through injury.
Aitor Alcalde Colomer/GettyImages
Predicted Lineups
Real Betis | Lopez; Feddal, Bartra, Mandi; Guerrero, Lo Celso, Carvalho, Canales, Tello; Moron, Sanabria |
Real Madrid | Navas; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, Modric; Diaz, Isco, Vinicius Jr; Benzema |
Head to Head Record
In 25 league games, Real Betis have only managed three victories over Los Blancos, including a 1-0 win at the Bernabeu last season. In the last seven meetings between the sides, Real Madrid have scored five or more goals on four occasions.
The previous meeting was an eight-goal thriller with Madrid beating Los Verdiblancos 5-3 away from home.
Recent Form
Real Madrid’s recent poor form has been well documented, winning one of their previous three league games. A FIFA Club World Cup papered over the cracks that have been gaping since Zinedine Zidane’s departure.
Solari will be hoping that their midweek Copa del Rey win over Leganes is the beginning of a resurgence. They sit in fifth place in La Liga.
Meanwhile, sixth place Real Betis have won three of their previous five league games but fell to a disappointing defeat away to bottom of the table SD Huesca last weekend.
Here's how each team has performed in their last five fixtures:
Real Betis | Real Madrid |
SD Huesca 2-1 Real Betis (5/1) | Real Madrid 0-1 Real Sociedad (6/1) |
Real Betis 1-1 Eibar (22/12) | Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid (3/1) |
Espanyol 1-3 Real Betis (16/12) | Real Madrid 1-0 Rayo Vallecano (15/12) |
Real Betis 2-0 Rayo Vallecano (9/12) | SD Huesca 0-1 Real Madrid (9/12) |
Real Betis 1-0 Real Sociedad (2/12) | Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia (1/12) |
Prediction
It will be a tough evening for Real Madrid as they look to regain their form in La Liga with several key players missing through injury.
Real Betis will also be fired up following their embarrassing defeat to Huesca, and will know that it is as good a time as any to play the European Champions.
It won’t be a classic, as Betis have a goal difference of 0, but it will be an intriguing watch.
