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

Real Madrid will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in Spain's top flight when they continue their campaign away to Real Betis on Friday evening.

Alvaro Arbeloa's side are second in the La Liga table, six points behind leaders Barcelona, while Real Betis are fifth, five points ahead of sixth-placed Celta Vigo.

Match preview

Real Betis suffered disappointment in the Europa League last week, being knocked out in the quarter-finals by Braga, but they returned to winning ways in La Liga on Tuesday night, recording a 3-2 victory away to Girona.

Manuel Pellegrini's team have a record of 12 wins, 13 draws and seven defeats from their 32 league matches this season, with 49 points leaving them in fifth spot in the table, five points ahead of sixth-placed Celta in the battle to qualify for the Europa League.

The Seville outfit have picked up 26 points from their 15 home league matches this season, suffering only three defeats in the process.

Real Betis recorded a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the corresponding game last season, but they suffered a 5-1 defeat to the capital giants in the reverse fixture at Bernabeu at the start of January.

El Glorioso have only actually lost two of their last six league games against Real Madrid, with three draws occurring during that period, including a 0-0 and 1-1 in Seville.

Real Madrid, meanwhile, will enter the match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Alaves, with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior on the scoresheet for the capital giants.

Los Blancos have cut the gap on division leaders Barcelona to six points, although the Catalan outfit will have the chance to again open up a nine-point advantage when they continue their season at home to Celta Vigo on Wednesday night.

It is a tall order for Arbeloa's side to claim first from this position, but Tuesday's success over Alaves was incredibly important, as it came off the back of a run of four games without a win.

Real Madrid were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich last week and are facing another campaign without a major trophy; it is expected to be a big summer transfer window for the club, while a new manager is set to be appointed.

Los Blancos have the second-best away record in La Liga this season, picking up 30 points from 15 matches, recording nine wins in the process.

Real Betis La Liga form:

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Real Betis form (all competitions):

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Real Madrid La Liga form:

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Real Madrid form (all competitions):

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Team News

Real Betis will welcome Antony back into their squad for this match, with the ex-Manchester United attacker serving a suspension in the clash with Girona last time out.

Junior Firpo (muscle) is out, while Diego Llorente (ankle) and Angel Ortiz (muscle) need to be assessed, but the home team are otherwise in strong shape for the visit of Real Madrid.

Abde Ezzalzouli was the team's standout player against Girona, and he will continue down the left, while Antony's return could mean that Giovani Lo Celso drops down to the bench.

As for Real Madrid, Rodrygo remains a long-term absentee due to a serious knee injury, while the match will also come too soon for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who is still out with a thigh issue.

Raul Asencio could return to the squad following illness, but Eder Militao is set to miss out with the hamstring issue that forced him off against Alaves, with Antonio Rudiger therefore in line to feature in the middle of the defence alongside Dean Huijsen.

Changes further forward are unlikely despite the quick turnaround, with Vinicius and Mbappe set to continue in the attack, while Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni should again feature in a fluid midfield.

Real Betis possible starting lineup:

Valles; Bellerin, Bartra, Natan, Rodriguez; Amrabat, Roca; Antony, Fornals, Ezzalzouli; Hernandez

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Valverde, Bellingham, Tchouameni, Guler; Vinicius, Mbappe

We say: Real Betis 1-2 Real Madrid

This is a really tough match to predict; Real Madrid have not actually beaten Real Betis in Seville since August 2021, but we are backing Arbeloa's team to navigate their way to all three points.

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