Real Madrid could close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to six points on Friday, with three weeks to go until the Clasico.
Who: Real Betis vs Real Madrid
Content: Spanish La Liga
Location: Estadio La Cartuja de Seville, Seville, Spain
Date and time: Friday 9pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 17:00 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
Real Madrid travel to Real Betis on Friday to continue chasing league leaders Barcelona, but La Liga’s record winners know that failure now could be fatal for their hopes of winning silver this season.
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Barça face Getafe on Saturday, but they responded to Real’s latest victory the previous day with a narrow win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
It’s been a turbulent season for Los Blancos, both on and off the field, but they’re still fighting. Al Jazeera Sports takes an in-depth look at the latest matches.
What will happen to the La Liga race between Real Madrid and Barcelona?
Barcelona won 1-0 against Celta Vigo, leaving them nine points behind Real.
Spain’s two giants were both eliminated from the UEFA Champions League, where they were the favorites to win.
The loss of both sides in the quarter-finals was shocking, and all eyes were now on the La Liga race with six matches remaining.
How are Real Madrid doing before the match against Real Betis?
Real’s season got even worse. Under new manager Xabi Alonso, 13 wins from the first 14 games of the season have become a distant memory.
Barcelona have long held the La Liga title, but their title has only strengthened after Los Blancos have won just one of their last three league games.
After suffering back-to-back La Liga losses in March against Osasuna and at home against Getafe, Barça took complete control of the league, but then won three consecutive games and continued to chase the Catalans.
However, there is little doubt that the Madrid giants cannot drop any more points from this point on.
Real’s 2-1 win over Alaves on Tuesday was their first win in five games, including their loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, and their third straight defeat.
Will Real Madrid face Barcelona again in the Clasico this season?
One of the hopes Real are clinging to in the final six games of the La Liga season is that they still have to face Barcelona in the Clasico.
The match against Barcelona on May 10th will give them a chance to close the lead on their rivals, even if it’s just a three-goal difference. This match will be followed by three more La Liga matches.
What happened the last time Real Madrid played Real Betis?
Real Madrid won 5-1 at home in this season’s last La Liga competition on January 4, with Gonzalo García scoring a hat-trick.
Raul Asensio and Fran Garcia were also on the scorer’s list, with Cucho Hernández scoring a devastating goal for Betis midway through the second half.
What happened in La Liga matches last season?
Betis came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 at home in this match last season.
Brahim Díaz gave Los Blancos the lead, but Johnny Cardoso and Isco turned the game around with penalties against his former club.
direct confrontation
This will be the 143rd time the two teams have faced each other, with Real winning 78 times and Real Betis 32 times.
Real Betis team news
Betis have former Manchester United winger Anthony back from a one-match suspension.
Junior Firpo is out with a bruise, but Diego Llorente and Angel Ortiz remain available despite ankle and muscle problems respectively.
Real Betis expected starting lineup
Valles; Bellerin, Bartra, Natan, Rodriguez. Amrabat, Roka; Anthony, Fornals, Ezarzuri. hernandez
Real Madrid team news
Real’s faint hopes of rebuilding Barcelona in La Liga were dealt a further blow on Thursday when both Eder Militao and Arda Güler were ruled out for the rest of the season.
According to the club, Brazilian defender Militao injured his left thigh, while Turkish attacking midfielder Güler was absent due to a right thigh problem.
For now, neither Militao, 28, nor Güler, 21, are thought to be at risk of missing the World Cup final.
Real Madrid’s predicted starting lineup
Lunin; Alexander-Arnold, Rüdiger, Huysen, Carreras. Valverde, Bellingham, Choameni, Guler. Vinicius, Mbappe
