La Liga: This is Real Madrid's Last Shot at Glory

Real Betis vs Real Madrid

Every Real Madrid fan is probably livid with the way the season has currently turned out for them.

The 2016/17 La Liga champions have experienced a bit of a freefall in terms of form, even seeing themselves outside of the European places during the first half of the season. While they now have a shot at the Champions League spots, they are definitely in no way threatening Barcelona for the top spot.

Los Blancos must find a semblance of stability and take the three points against Real Betis in order to get their second-half comeback underway. However, their hosts would be the last team in the Spanish top flight that I would describe as an easy opponent for the frustrated giants.

They can very much end Real Madrid’s hopes of winning a La Liga title here.

Talking Points

Can Madrid even win at all?

One would be compelled to question the form of a club of Real Madrid’s stature if you were to look at their performance over the past couple of months.

The winter window is far from finished and they have already tripped six times. The Madrid powerhouse has only experienced losing six games twice over two seasons: 2017/18 under Zinedine Zidane and 2014/15 under Carlo Ancelotti. One can even say that the white side of Madrid can kiss their La Liga hopes goodbye.

Moreover, many of these defeats happened in very frustrating circumstances. Their most painful defeat so far in the campaign was to Barcelona when Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick to a hapless and uninspired Madrid XI.

However, that doesn’t mean that their five other losses weren’t as painful. Their away defeats to Sevilla, Deportivo Alaves and Eibar are simply unacceptable for a side that is held to a standard the way Madrid are. And their home collapses versus sides such as Levante and Real Sociedad baffle even the most seasoned punters at SBOBET.

Moreover, Madrid are embroiled in interesting La Liga 2019 news that could distract the already-rattled locker room. Key midfield player Luka Modric is apparently on his way out of the club, and young star Vinicius Junior could also walk off the door if Florentino Perez could bring in a Kylian Mbappe or a Neymar.

However, the focus should be on the pitch and the players they currently have. Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos aren’t doing that bad, but they definitely need to inspire the team to perform better against a team that shouldn’t be even in their radar.

Betis look for another giant-killing

While the players with the Real Madrid crest on their chest feel the burden of the entire world on their shoulders, Real Betis are coming to this game with a desire to keep their fine run going.

A series of fantastic results and resilient draws saw the Verdiblancos end up in Real Madrid’s rearview mirror. It’s thanks to the superb performances of Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Tello that the team is competing for a Europa League spot.

La Liga Matchday 19 to feature an exciting clash between Real Betis and Real Madrid — Real Betis midfielder Giovani Lo Celso in action during a La Liga match against Espanyol

Their most memorable triumph is easily their 3-4 victory against Barcelona at Camp Nou. They defied the odds and took down a team that featured Suarez, Lionel Messi and Malcom up front. This should help the team cheer up despite the recent run of form they have found themselves in.

Moreover, Quique Setien has a quiet confidence with his squad. He simply said ahead of this big clash that he will not change anything against the struggling Galacticos, sending a message of trust that his players can do the job.

“We will put all the energy possible into the game without thinking it’s against Madrid or any other side,” the 60-year-old said. He also said that Madrid will always be Madrid regardless of their current condition.

This may be playing down his team, but I believe that they have what it takes to pull off another stunning upset.

History

The two sides have played each other 44 times since 1995, and Madrid expectedly won the majority of those fixtures. Los Blancos won 23 of those games while the Beticos took eight of them. Interestingly, 13 of those fixtures were draws.

It seems that the majority of those draws happened during the past two decades, though, as Madrid crushed Betis in four of their last six meetings. This includes a 5-0 rout of Betis in August 2015 and a 1-6 stomp at the Estadio Benito Villamarin in October 2016.

Betting Tip

	Real Betis vs Real Madrid	Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.05
	January 14, 03:45 (GMT+8)

Despite Betis’ victory over Barcelona in November, I still don’t see them easily crushing a squad that features Thibaut Courtois on goal and Benzema up front. I think Real Madrid still have too much quality in them to just lose another match in humiliating fashion.

With this being said, I imagine that both teams would be able to score at least once before Santiago Solari’s men manage a late winner from a dead ball. I reckon that the Total Goal market offers the best chances of winning.

However, the Asian Handicap and 1X2 markets offer very delectable La Liga 2019 betting odds. The Over-Under market is also intriguing when it comes to the offers they have at hand.