Preview: Real Betis vs Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Madrid will be aiming to extend their perfect start to the 2026-27 season when they head to La Cartuja for Friday's clash with Real Betis.

Los Blancos head into matchday four in second place in La Liga and level on nine points with Barcelona, while the hosts are in seventh spot after collecting six points from three games.

Match preview

Betis are just days away from beginning their first Champions League campaign in 21 years after achieving a fifth-placed finish last season.

However, Los Verdiblancos will need to negotiate a daunting game against Real Madrid before they can turn their focus to Tuesday's European meeting with Lille in France.

Betis will head into Friday's fixture on the back of a heavy 5-2 defeat against Levante, a result that came as a surprise as they had started the campaign with consecutive 1-0 victories over Real Sociedad and Valencia.

Marc Bartra and Rodrigo Riquelme struck in the first half as Betis came from behind on a couple of occasions, but they had ultimately had no response to Roger Brugue's brace and Jon Ander Olasagasti's late effort as they slumped to their first defeat of the season.

Manuel Pellegrini knows his side can ill afford another weak defensive display against a Real Madrid side that racked up 10 goals in three games, although his charges will at least fancy their chances of troubling the scorers after finding the net in 11 consecutive league games since playing out a goalless draw with Espanyol in April.

Betis are also looking to extend their unbeaten home run against Real Madrid, having avoided defeat in each of their last four head-to-head meetings in front of their supporters, including a dramatic 1-1 draw in April that saw Hector Bellerin net a stoppage-time equaliser.

Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, has enjoyed a successful start to his second spell as Real Madrid boss, which began with a hard-fought 2-1 away win over Espanyol.

Real Madrid made lighter work of their first two home outings of the season, hammering Real Sociedad 4-1 before netting four more goals in Sunday's clash with newly-promoted Malaga.

Jude Bellingham opened the scoring and then played a major role in Alfonso Herrero's own goal, before Kylian Mbappe netted his 60th La Liga goal to extend Real Madrid's lead to three inside 30 minutes.

Substitute Arda Guler completed the rout in the closing stages of the contest, meaning Real Madrid have hosted Malaga 18 times in La Liga without losing a single game (W15, D3).

With Barcelona playing on Sunday, Mourinho's side will move three points clear at the top of La Liga if they win away at Betis for the first time since recording a 1-0 success in August 2021.

The Portuguese coach has previously experienced mixed results against Los Verdiblancos, with his previous eight meetings producing four wins, one draw and three defeats, although he won three of his four encounters in his first spell as Real Madrid boss.

Real Betis La Liga form:

Real Madrid La Liga form:

Team News

The hosts are unable to call upon the injured trio of Diego Conde, Aitor Ruibal and Giovani Lo Celso.

Dani Ceballos has returned to Betis on a free transfer from Real Madrid, although there is a possibility his lack of match fitness may deny him an outing against his former club.

Pellegrini is set to make changes to the side that started the heavy defeat against Levante, with Diego Llorente, Pablo Fornals and Cucho Hernandez all pushing for starting spots.

As for Real Madrid, Mourinho remains without the services of Raul Asencio, Ferland Mendy, Thiago Pitarch and Rodrygo due to injury.

Defender Eder Militao is making progress in his recovery from a serious hamstring injury, but he is unlikely to return before the international break.

Aurelien Tchouameni and Endrick are the closest to making their respective returns to action, although the pair are in a race against time to prove their fitness in time for Friday's contest.

After altering his side for the commanding win over Malaga, Mourinho could recall Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler for Friday's trip to Andalusia.

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Valles; Bellerin, Llorente, Natan, Garcia; Roca, Fornals; Antony, Isco, Riquelme; Cucho

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Silva; Guler, Bellingham, Vinicius; Mbappe

We say: Real Betis 1-3 Real Madrid

Real Madrid may be winless in their last four away games against Betis, but they travel to La Cartuja with significant momentum and confidence after netting 10 goals across their opening three games.

We believe their array of attacking talent will cause too many problems for a Betis defence that looked vulnerable against Levante, which is why we are predicting a relatively comfortable win for Mourinho's charges.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.