Betis v Barcelona Match Result
Barcelona might have won six of their nine away games in La Liga, although the bookmakers are prepared to offer match odds of around 1.70 when it comes to Hansi Flick’s team. The Catalan side were looking very strong a few weeks ago, although they had failed to win any of three La Liga games going into Tuesday’s clash at Mallorca.
The games are coming thick and fast for Barca whose match away to Real Betis is followed by a difficult Champions League trip to Borussia Dortmund and it’s hard for the team to continue juggling their domestic and European commitments. Despite having 70% of possession and eight shots on target, the 2-1 home reverse to Las Palmas came as a big shock.
Previously to this, there was a 3-0 European success against Brest, although that was preceded by a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo where the home side had twice as many shots on target as Barcelona, with the visitors getting sucker-punched considering that they led going into the final few minutes of the game.
Possibly of more concern was the 1-0 reverse away to Sociedad where Barcelona didn’t have any shots on target, with the team having proved erratic and allowing Real Madrid to muscle their way back into the title conversation. A trip to Real Betis is hardly ideal timing for Flick’s men.
However, Manuel Pellegrini’s side have been on a downward spiral of their own in recent clashes, with defeats away to Valencia and Sociedad coming either side of a Europa League loss against Mlada Boleslav.
They should be a tougher proposition when it comes to the home clashes and they did beat Atletico Madrid towards the end of October, with Mallorca the only side to come away with a victory and we might expect Real Betis to land a draw from this encounter.
Goals Under/Over
The Over 2.5 Goals quote is trading at a much shorter price than Under 2.5 Goals. There have been only sixteen goals scored in seven home games for Real Betis, with Pellegrini’s side having scored ten times and conceding just six. The fact that the team are conceding less than one goal on average in front of their own fans doesn’t mean the bookies are anticipating a low-scoring contest.
That’s partially down to the fact that Barcelona have found the net twenty-four times in seven away games and clearly possess the firepower to cover the 2.5 goal line on their own. However, Flick has to rotate his squad due to the busy fixture schedule and perhaps the Unders could be the selection that offers the most value.
The vast majority of Barca matches have features Over 2.5 Goals and it was only that recent 1-0 defeat at Sociedad that was the outlier, although Real Betis will be pleased to keep this game low-scoring and perhaps that can lead to a smaller number of goals being scored than anticipated.
BTTS
Barcelona have an abundance of firepower and they have scored twenty-four goals in their nine away games. Robert Lewandowski is the division’s top scorer with fifteen, while Raphinha has nine on the board and it’s hard to see them drawing a blank. Real Sociedad are the only side to have snuffed out the Catalan side this season, with Real Betis potentially having to change their game plan if they fall a goal behind.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have only scored ten goals in front of their own fans, while they have scored just six on the road. That doesn’t give Betis a high goal average although the bookies do think that both teams scoring is more likely that not, with many customers likely to put this selection in their accumulator.
There have been several encounters this term where Barcelona have won and the BTTS Yes selection has landed, with the Catalan side having conceded eleven times on the road and they are happy to get on the front foot even if it means conceding a consolation goal. There’s also the fact that they need to start going for wins after a recent blip.
First Goalscorer
It’s never too much of a surprise to find Barcelona players featuring high on the scoring charts. Despite his advancing years, Robert Lewandowski has scored fifteen La Liga goals this term, with the Pole racking up twenty-two in all competitions this season and he’s an obvious starting point when it comes to a First Goalscorer bet.
However, Raphinha has recently been able to score eight goals in as many games, with the former Leeds United forward scoring a Champions League hat-trick against Bayern Munich before going on to register in three consecutive games. He’s going to be a lively threat from out wide and there’s also the emergence of Dani Olmo who is providing more of a cutting edge than ever before.
Six goals in ten games is pretty strong for the Spaniard, while Giovani Lo Celso the Real Betis player who offers the biggest scoring threat. The Argentine had a purple patch earlier in the season when scoring five goals in the space of four games, although he might find harder against a strong Barcelona team.