Spanish giants Real Madrid did not make a very good start in the New Year and failed to win their first two matches. They did bounce back with a nice win in the Copa del Rey, but they still haven’t won a single game in the La Liga so far in 2019. Real Madrid will now be hosted by Betis on Sunday, in what is expected to be a really tough match. Betis might have been struggling a lot lately, but they are always really solid at home and can easily cause problems here.
Betis (7-6-5) are coming into this match after a somewhat upsetting goal-less draw at home against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey. The two teams played a really balanced game and created pretty much the same amount of scoring chances, but neither was able to score a goal. They will now have to fight it out in the second leg. Last week in the La Liga, Betis met a really tough loss as they fell by 1-2 on the road against newcomers Huesca. They became the first team to lose to the bottom-feeders thanks to two goals in the second half. Betis have been struggling to get results lately, but have still lost just once in their last nine matches in all competitions. They have been quite strong at home so far in the league (4-2-3), and also have three wins, and two draws there for other competitions. Moreover, Betis are now undefeated in their last eight home matches in all competitions and kept five clean sheets in their previous six. They will come here without Kaptoum and Sidnei who are injured, while Inui, Junior, and Leon are all still being listed as questionable to participate.
On the other hand, Real Madrid (9-6-3) played an excellent match at home against Leganes in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey, beating them by 0-3. Ramos took the lead at the 44th minute from the penalty spot, and Lucas and Vinicius both scored in the second half for that easy win for Real Madrid. However, before that, they met a really humiliating 2-0 home loss against Real Sociedad. Their opponents took the lead at the 3rd minute from the penalty spot, while Lucas saw a red card at the 61st minute, leaving Real Madrid with 10 men at the pitch. Real Sociedad secured the three points with another goal at the 83rd minute and forced Real Madrid to their first loss of the year. Real Madrid is now sitting at the 5th spot of the La Liga with 30 points, four ahead of their upcoming opponents and just one point behind Alaves. They have been pretty weak on the road so far in the league (3-4-2), where they also have three more wins and a loss in other competitions. Real Madrid will come here with a ton of injury concerns, as Asensio, Bale, Courtois, Kroos, and Llorente are injured, Lucas is suspended, while Diaz and Sanchez are still being listed as questionable.