Real Betis vs Malaga Prediction

Betis flying, Malaga stuck

Real Betis have won five of their seven league games this season, with just the one defeat, to Villarreal. They've scored freely too, with wins over Real Madrid, Levante and Real Sociedad mixed in among tougher European outings.

Real Betis: 20 completed matches; Malaga: 20 completed matches.

Real Betis

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

20% 4 / 20

Scored

33

Conceded

21

Difference

+12

Malaga

20 matches

Win

30% 6 / 20

Draw

45% 9 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

28

Conceded

28

Difference

0

Malaga's league record reads very differently. No wins in seven, three draws and four defeats, including a heavy 4-0 loss at Real Madrid. Their overall form sample includes Segunda División and friendly matches as well, but the La Liga picture on its own is one of a team still finding its feet.

Betis' home form and Malaga's winless league run point in very different directions.

Comparative Team Statistics: Real Betis vs Malaga

History doesn't tell us much here

The two sides met in a pre-season friendly last August, which Malaga won 3-1, but that's not much of a guide to a competitive league fixture over a year later.

Beyond that, the head-to-head record stretches back over a decade of La Liga meetings, fairly evenly split, but none of it reflects where either club is right now.

Third against twentieth

The table tells its own story. Real Betis sit third with 16 points from seven games, while Malaga are bottom on three points from the same number of matches.

That's a 13-point gap already this early in the season, with Malaga having conceded 12 goals against Betis's seven.

How it could play out

Betis have been scoring goals and winning regularly at a level Malaga haven't come close to matching this season. On paper, a home side in this sort of form against a team bottom of the table and without a league win should control most of this game.

Malaga did show in that friendly they can hurt Betis on the counter, even if it means little competitively. The bigger question is whether their defensive struggles, 12 goals conceded already, hold up against a Betis attack that's been among the league's most productive.