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Real Madrid must pray for a Barcelona meltdown
Barcelona sealed a narrow 1-0 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday, but they will play a day after Madrid’s clash with Betis.
Furthermore, the final Clásico of the season takes place in a few weeks, but the title race might be done and dusted before then.
Álvaro Arbeloa’s men have been in poor form over the previous few weeks. In LaLiga, a 1-1 draw with Girona came just six days after a damaging 2-1 loss against Mallorca. Those results allowed Barcelona to build a commanding lead at the top of the table.
Factor in a Champions League semi-final exit to Bayern Munich, there is a real possibility that Madrid finish the season without winning a major trophy for the second successive campaign.
All they can do is keep winning and hope Hansi Flick’s side undergo a massive collapse between now and the end of May.
Real Betis gunning for Europe
Betis are undergoing a fine campaign as they currently reside in fifth place in the table at the time of writing.
Seven defeats from 32 games is the third-best record in the division and it has Betis well in contention for a place in the Europa League next term.
Perhaps the only disappointment was the recent defeat to Braga in that very competition. Having drawn the first leg 1-1, Manuel Pellegrini and his side suffered a poor 4-2 defeat at home last week to end hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
The attacking trio of Antony, Cucho Hernández and Abde Ezzalzouli have scored 38 goals between them across all competitions this season and have played a massive part in lifting Betis up the table.
Although the reverse fixture was lost 5-1 in January, if those three can perform on Friday evening, Betis have a chance of sealing a positive result against an indifferent Madrid team.
Team news
Betis will be without the services of Diego Llorente and Junior Firpo due to muscle injuries. Ángel Ortiz has suffered with a shoulder problem recently and he is a doubt for the clash on Friday evening.
Rodrygo is a long-term absentee for Madrid after he suffered an ACL injury in March that keeps him out until the start of next season.
Elsewhere, Raúl Asencio was hospitalised with a digestive infection and will miss the game, as to will Thibaut Courtois with a thigh issue.
Prediction
Madrid may have got back to winning ways on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Alavés, but the pressure is on to keep pace with Barcelona.
Betis could exploit this on Friday evening and give themselves a massive boost in their chase for a Europa League spot in the process.
It will be a tight game. As such, a draw is on the cards.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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