LA Liga resumes on Thursday night with “El Gran Derbi” as fierce rivals Sevilla and Real Betis square off at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
Sevilla and Real Betis have enjoyed slightly contrasting seasons to date, with the former lying third in La Liga, while the latter are floundering in mid-table just eight points above the relegation zone.
The hosts were in decent form before the enforced shutdown, having lost only one of their last seven La Liga assignments, however, Julen Lopetegui's troops have performed better on their travels this term.
However, with just a mere five points separating Sevilla and seventh-placed Valencia, Lopetegui and CO will have to address their struggles on home turf if they want to be sure of a place at Europe's top-table next season.
While Sevilla have found home comfort hard to come by, their old foes Real Betis have recorded just one win away from home in 13 attempts this term, so something will have to give in this showdown.
Yet, Betis boss Rubi led his side to a shock 2-1 win at home to Real Madrid (above) before the season came to a halt and the Green-and-Whites will be desperate to follow up on that triumph by bagging all three points in their rivals backyard.
Outright Betting
Sevilla, having avoided defeat in 12 of their last 15 meetings with Real Betis, go into this battle as odds-on favourites at 17/20 with Bet 365.
Real Betis are big underdogs at 3/1 with Bet 365, while a share of the spoils in the Seville derby is at a best 14/5 with UniBet.
Betting Angles
Indeed, the bookmakers odds suggest that Sevilla will continue to dominate the derby, however, given that this game represents the resumption of the Spanish season, coupled with it being contested behind closed doors, this looks like a tricky fixture to tackle from a betting perspective.
There have certainly been no shortage of goals in recent matches between these rivals, with five of the last six clashes featuring over 2.5 goals and that will see plenty of punters attracted to the 10/11 (Bet 365) on offer for a repeat on Thursday night.
Indeed, those odds take appeal, however. I'm going to opt for an alternative angle here by combining Sevilla to score at least one goal, five or more Sevilla corners and two plus Real Betis bookings.
Julen Lopetegui's men were scoring freely before the break and they will be returning to action against a Real Betis side who have one of the leakiest rearguards in La Liga having shipped 43 goals in 27 outings to date.
With that in mind, I do fancy the hosts to hit the back of the net here and I'm happy to add five or more corners given that Sevilla average 6 corners per game – the highest in the division.
Furthermore, this fixture is notoriously fiery and that is reflected in the 8/11 Bet 365 are offering for over 6.5 cards to be dished out by card -happy match official Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
There is little value in the above-mentioned card line, however, for the purposes of the aforementioned punt with PaddyPower, a couple of cards for Real Betis should click given that the intensity of this contest should be high.
In considering who will claim El Gran Derbi bragging rights, the 17/20 (Bet 365) on offer for a home win is a betting angle that I like the look of, however, I'm going to take a slightly more conservative approach by backing Sevilla to score two or more goals at 17/20 with BetVictor.
Los Nervionenses have made the net bulge in at least two of their last four La Liga outings and Sevilla have scored two or more goals in five of their last six meetings with Real Betis – including this season's reverse fixture (above).
What's more, the home team are fiercely competing for one of the final two Champions League places and given that three of Sevilla's last four victories have been by two or more goals, two or more Sevilla strikes takes appeal when they come up against a brittle and travel-sick Real Betis side.
This La Liga match between Sevilla and Real Betis will be played on Jun 11, 2020 and kick off at 21:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sevilla vs Real Betis prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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