Espanyol vs Real Betis – Betting Preview
Espanyol Summary
Espanyol comes into this contest in a great mood after getting a win away in Getafe last weekend.
The morale is good at the club and their only aim this season is to stay well clear of the relegation zone and ideally, push for a Europa League spot.
Diego Martínez is missing Adrià Pedrosa, Keidi Baré, and Gori García. The much bigger concern for the boss is however the fitness of key midfielder Sergi Darder.
Darder was subbed off during their cup game midweek while Braithwaite didn’t travel due to a minor knock. The latter is expected to be cleared but Darder is 50/50.
If Darder is cleared to play then they will use more or less the same side which defeated Getafe last weekend, only with Olivan back after serving a ban.
Real Betis Summary
Real Betis didn’t play last weekend due to their participation in the Spanish super cup where they lost to Barcelona on penalties.
The entire squad travelled to Saudia Arabia in the middle east and it was a productive tour according to club officials.
Betis were unfortunately dumped out of the cup midweek also by a penalty shootout. As a result, they’re feeling down and in real need of a win here to regain momentum. On a positive note, with a win here and other results going their way, they can move into 4th spot by the end of the weekend.
The press speculates that Pellegrini could rotate one of several men which went the 120 minutes in the cup, leaving a question mark and negative sense over team news.
Luiz Felipe is banned and missing for Betis which is a big blow. Juan Cruz is also missing while both the important Fekir and Juanmi are in slight doubt. Rui Silva meanwhile is back fit and available to play.
Betting Analysis
Looking at the 1×2 market first, where the favourite is not really decided at this stage. Espanyol is @ 2.80 while Betis getting an away victory is a little shorter @ 2.75. The draw is the outsider of the three options @ 3.10.
Moving onto the Asian handicap market for this contest. As the punters cannot split the two sides, the draw is offered as no bet here. This (DNB) means any stake on Beits -0 @ 1.90 or Espanyol -0 @ 1.96 would return the bet in full should the match end all square.
Looking at The Under/Over market last of all which has moved up from 2.25 to 2.5. The prices with this line indicate that punters are slightly more positive about goals than the bookie initially anticipated. Under 2.5 goals however is an odds-on price. Over 2.5 is @ 2.20 while the under sits @ 1.64.
