As Real Betis hosts the current Spanish champions Real Madrid at home, they hope to make it four wins in a row. The Green and Whites are aiming for a top-4 finish this season and are presently placed in the fifth spot on the table. Real Sociedad, who are one slot above them, are just four points behind Manuel Pellegrini's team. They would like to close this difference to one point and put further pressure on Sociedad. Unfortunately for Betis, their last victory over Los Blancos came in March 2020, and with Madrid coming off a loss, they might go all out in the hopes of picking up where they left off. Real Madrid has benefited from this match. 2-1 victory by Los Blancos at the Santiago Bernabeu in the rematch. And Carlo Ancelotti's team will do everything they can to get three points at home after narrowly losing to Barcelona at home in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semifinal. The defending champions would need to cut the deficit if they wish to retake the Spanish throne, as Barcelona increased their advantage at the top of the standings to 10 points with a valiant victory against Valencia. The worst mistakes might cost the Spanish giants the La Liga championship as they approach a stretch of crucial matches.
Real Betis vs. Real Madrid confirmed line-ups
Real Betis XI (4-2-3-1): Bravo, Sabaly, Pezzella, Felipe, Miranda, Carvalho, Rodriguez, Rodri, Perez, Ruibal, and Iglesias
Real Madrid XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Vazquez; Militao; Rudiger; Camavinga; Valverde; Tchouameni; Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius
Match Report
Real Madrid's dismal 0-0 draw against Real Betis on Sunday marked the end of a challenging week and did little to improve their chances of catching Barcelona in the LaLiga title chase. Real controlled against Betis but squandered many opportunities after dropping the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal by a score of 1-0 at home to Barcelona on Thursday. Barcelona leads with 62 points, nine more than Real, who is in second position but has already had two straight draws. With 41 points, Betis sits in fifth position and three points outside of the Champions League spots. "We'll carry on battling. There are still many games to be played in March, according to Real Madrid defender Lucas Vazquez, who spoke to Movistar Plus. We are unhappy with the outcome since we were off course in the final stretch "I implore the audience to remain believing in us. For the three titles we are vying for, we will battle until the last end." Real Madrid controlled the action as an often dangerous Betis consistently threatened Thibaut Courtois' goal in a goalless game in Seville. Real Madrid has been having trouble up front after a 5-2 victory against Liverpool in their round-of-16 Champions League first-leg matchup.
In their previous three games in all competitions, they have only managed one goal, a set-piece in the 1-1 tie with Atletico Madrid. They had a strong start against Betis, but Karim Benzema's free kick attempt in the 12th minute was disallowed because the ball struck Real defender Antonio Ruediger's hand before entering the goal. Federico Valverde nearly scored as the visitors kept up the pressure, but his powerful shot barely cleared the crossbar. The second half saw an increase in tension and intensity as Real made every effort to win while Betis had opportunities of their own to surprise the LaLiga and Champions League champions. After the interval, Claudio Bravo of Betis produced an outstanding save from a Benzema shot to prevent Real from scoring, then Thibaut Courtois pulled off his own miracle by making a one-handed save to stop Borja Iglesias from close range. However, Rodrigo blew two excellent chances by passing to Benzema rather than scoring, and he then missed a clear-cut chance from close range following a Valverde cross. Besides passing up a chance, substitute Dani Ceballos, Bravo stopped close-range attempts from Nacho and Benzema.