Match Preview

Real Madrid stay at home at the Bernabéu this weekend as they take on Real Betis on Saturday.

Both of these clubs had midweek matches on Wednesday in which they won. Real Madrid had a commanding 5-0 victory over Leganés while Betis took down Celta with a score of 2-1.

With the midweek win, Real are back within one point of league leader Barcelona. They face off against Levante on Saturday as well.

It’s been a rather disappointing season so far for Real Betis after finishing 10th in LaLiga last season. They are currently 16th in the league table, tied on points though with Eibar and Alavés.

Betis had a bit of an active summer. They lost Giovani Lo Celso to Tottenham, but added two rather significant signings in former Espanyol striker Borja Iglesias and former Lyon and once-Liverpool target Nabil Fekir.

Some tale of the tape for this match, Real Madrid have failed to score a goal in their last two home fixtures against Betis. They have never done that three times in a row. Betis have also lost their last five away matches this season.

Injuries/Suspensions

Real Madrid will remain without Nacho and Marco Asensio with significant injuries. Bale remains out with injury on Saturday. James remains out of the squad as well. Vinicius is back with the squad after being left out midweek.

Real Betis have several injuries to their squad as well, including: Wilfrid Kaptoum, William Carvalho, Dani Martín, Javi García and Juanmi.

There are no suspensions for either club in this match. Alvaro Odriozola served his suspension against Leganés on Wednesday, but is not featured in Zidane’s squad this weekend.

Potential XIs

Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Rodrygo, Hazard, Benzema

The starting XI will likely be fairly similar to the one that featured against Leganés. Fede Valverde filled in for Modric on Wednesday, but it’s probably likely Modric takes back the starting spot since he should be close to fully recovered now.

Rodrygo will also likely start again after he scored in the midweek match. Vinicius will likely get a look at some point since Zidane decided to include him over Lucas Vazquez this time around.

Real Betis

Robles; Emerson, Mandi, Feddal, Moreno; Montilla, Guardado, Joaquín, Fekir, Canales; Iglesias

Prediction

Real Madrid—Real Betis 2-1

This could be a close given how these matches have gone between these two clubs at the Bernabéu in recent memory. Real need to kick the habit of not scoring against Betis in the last two home matches.

This is a significantly more struggling Betis this season so far, one that Real should be able to get all 3 points from. This is a must-win since Real are so close on points now with Barcelona. Real Madrid can’t just assume that Barcelona will drop points since they’ve been perfect in their last five matches now.

This will be a tough match, certainly most likely tougher than the midweek fixture with Leganés. Real need to be able to pull this one off at home and get three much-needed points to continue the competitive LaLiga campaign.