Betis vs Alaves Prediction 18 January 2025

🔊 What reaction can we expect from the "green-whites" after the humiliating cup defeat? The next round of the Spanish La Liga will soon delight us with a number of intriguing matchups. One such encounter will be the meeting between Betis and Alaves at "Benito Villamarin". Bookmakers do not consider an outcome where the team from Vitoria-Gasteiz wins: the success of the "Heliopolitans" is at 1.75, while the victory of the "Glorious" is at 4.8. Will the visitors manage to upset the Seville crowd? Let's try to figure it out in our prediction.

📊 H2H

In the first round of the current championship, the teams could not determine a winner (0:0). We note that the "Beticos" have not lost to the "Glorious" at their home arena in the last three meetings. We noticed a rather interesting trend: in 5 out of the last 6 head-to-head meetings, no more than two goals were scored.

🟢 BETIS

The result of the recent cup clash with Barcelona (1:5) came as a surprise to many Spanish football fans. Manuel Pellegrini's team completely failed to maintain compactness in their lines, which regularly led to open spaces. Even the pragmatism of the Chilean specialist did not ensure reliability in the defense of the "green-whites". Performances in the national championship also leave much to be desired - only 10th place in the standings. However, at "Benito Villamarin", Betis has only lost once this season - in a match of the 6th round of La Liga against Mallorca (1:2). During the winter transfer window, Assane Diao (to Como) and Rui Silva (to Sporting) have already left the Seville team.

🔵 ALAVES

With Eduardo Coudet's arrival, Alaves continues to employ a rather primitive tactical style. The 4-4-2 formation implies high compactness and constant presence of pairs of players in every area of the field. Sometimes it seems like the Argentine is trying to build a sort of Madrid Atletico at the helm of the "Glorious". The club from Vitoria-Gasteiz also tries to force their opponents into long balls, sacrificing short passes. Nevertheless, for 7 consecutive rounds, the "Bean Destroyers" have not won in La Liga. Now, the gap from the relegation zone is only 1 point. A key personnel loss for Alaves is the injury of their main goalkeeper Antonio Sivera.

⚽️ GOALS PREDICTION

The teams are characterized by rather modest scoring this season. Both Betis and Alaves score an average of 1.1 times per game. However, it should be noted that the "green-whites" are incredibly unlucky. With 21 goals scored in the championship, the "Heliopolitans" have an xG of 32.25. We highlight the following trend: in 5 out of 6 previous head-to-head encounters, no more than two goals were scored. Our choice is a total under 2.5 goals.

🚩 CORNERS PREDICTION

The pragmatism from Manuel Pellegrini results in a very low number of corners conceded by Betis - about 3.9 per game. In comparison, Alaves allows their opponents to enjoy 4.8 corners. Let's also pay attention to the ratio of corner kicks in head-to-head meetings between "Beticos" and "Glorious" - 5.4 against 5.1 respectively. Our editorial choice is Betis victory on corners with a handicap (-1.5).

📝 MATCH PREDICTION

Eduardo Coudet has not yet secured a single victory at the helm of Alaves. The choice of a cautious style was not new for the players of the "Glorious". However, such pragmatic football does not allow the club from Vitoria-Gasteiz to fully realize its potential. The "Beticos" are unlikely to change themselves and will again rely on the weaknesses of the "Bean Destroyers", cautiously acting at their own goal. Our editorial team predicts a final score of 1:0. The key bet is total under 2.5 goals.