Real Betis vs Getafe

Getafe’s survival hopes are in jeopardy as they take an arduous-looking trip to the Estadio Benito Villamarin to encounter European-bidding Real Betis.

Despite drawing 0-0 with fierce cross-town rivals Sevilla at the weekend, Betis are one step away from a third consecutive top-six La Liga finish as they need a win over out-of-sorts Getafe to get the job done. Since an embarrassing 3-0 loss in September 2020, ‘Los Verdiblancos’ have held Getafe scoreless in four consecutive La Liga H2Hs (W3, D1), including a narrow 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in Madrid. But Betis’ problems with inconsistent performance at home require immediate attention, with their last eight La Liga outings at Benito Villamarin fluctuating between different results (W4, D2, L2). That doesn’t change the fact that apart from the current top two teams in the league, only two other sides have emerged victorious on their home ground this season (W9, D4).

On the other hand, Getafe’s stuttering bid to avoid relegation from La Liga took a significant blow at the weekend as dead-last Elche held them to a 1-1 draw, extending their rotten spell of form to one win in their last nine league outings (D3, L5). Despite that, Jose Bordalas’ men start this round outside the bottom three, courtesy of a goal difference alone, emphasizing the importance of arresting a dismal four-match losing run away from home. However, a lack of firepower that saw ‘El Geta’ draw a blank in three of those four matches suggests Betis’ potential game opener could put this clash beyond their reach. Though it’s been over two years since they last failed to score on three consecutive La Liga travels, it ominously happened during Bordalas’ previous spell at the helm.