Sevilla vs. Real Betis Betting Preview – La Liga, June 11

Following almost three months without any action, La Liga is back! But the Spanish top flight isn’t just returning with any old game. The 2019/20 season resumes with the Derbi Sevillano between fierce cross-city rivals Sevilla and Real Betis.

Despite the lack of a live crowd, you can guarantee that this will be a hotly contested matchup between two old foes. You can find my Sevilla vs. Real Betis prediction and betting pick below.

10Bet hasn’t sprung any surprises with the odds here. Third-place Sevilla currently leads Real Betis by 14 points, while Rubi’s side is eight points clear of the relegation zone in twelfth.

Given that Sevilla has enjoyed such a promising season so far, I think odds of 1.83 for the home win are slightly generous. Betis has endured a wildly inconsistent campaign, so it’s difficult to predict what sort of performance we’ll see from the away side on Thursday.

With just 11 games remaining this term, only Barcelona and Real Madrid sit above Sevilla in the table. Sure, the gap between third and second may be nine points. But if someone had told Julen Lopetegui that his team would be in this position before a ball was kicked this season, I’m sure he would’ve taken it.

Sevilla’s success has been built on a solid backline. In fact, Los Palanganas boasts a better defensive record than league-leader Barca. Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik has kept ten clean sheets in the league, while center-back Diego Carlos has been a revelation in his debut campaign for the club.

By contrast, Betis has struggled to keep the ball out of their net this season. Only Leganes and Mallorca — two of the bottom three clubs — have conceded more La Liga goals than Betis in 2019/20, although Rubi’s men are the fifth-highest scorers in the division.

Betis ended a six-game winless run with a shock victory in their final game before the campaign was put on hold. Los Verdiblancos was in freefall, but a rare win over Real Madrid meant they entered the break on a high. Still, back-to-back victories against top-three opponents may be beyond Betis’ capabilities.

I’m expecting Sevilla to hit the ground running when the season resumes. After all, they can’t afford to slip up. With Real Sociedad and Getafe just one point shy of third and Atletico Madrid two points behind, Sevilla must claim all three points to remain in control of their Champions League qualification bid.

Local bragging rights aside, mid-table Betis doesn’t really have anything to play for. Rubi’s side shouldn’t get dragged into the relegation battle, but the European places are also out of their reach.