David Flower
Dailysports's expert
One of the matches of the 33rd round of the Spanish championship will be played on Wednesday at the "Coliseum" stadium in the suburbs of Madrid, where local Getafe and Real will clash in a derby. I offer a bet on the outcome of this confrontation with good chances of success.
Match Preview
The middle of the La Liga table currently resembles a tight traffic jam: only a couple of wins separate the 15th place from the European competition zone. So even the "city team", settled in 12th place, could theoretically still join the international race. However, it's hard to believe: the football under José Bordalás is extremely pragmatic, sometimes even excessively restrained. There is a clear lack of aggression and risk, which is why the results leave much to be desired.
In the last four rounds, Getafe managed to beat only the collapsing Valladolid, coming away empty-handed in the other matches. Another failure occurred on Friday when Getafe visited the in-form Espanyol, who, by the way, had three consecutive wins at that point. The match was colorless, focusing on struggle and tactical tightness, but in such conditions, Espanyol knows how to squeeze the maximum. The result was a dry 0:1 defeat and more questions about the ambitions of the capital team.
The recent ignominious fiasco of the Galacticos in the Champions League — a double defeat by London's Arsenal — still agitates the minds of fans and journalists on both sides of the Pyrenees. Especially impassioned press representatives are already predicting Carlo Ancelotti's dismissal, despite the fact that the silver-haired strategist is still fighting on two fronts: in La Liga and the Copa del Rey. The management of the "Royal Club" is unlikely to act rashly: ahead is the championship race, where Real is currently four points behind Barcelona, and the final chord in the national cup.
On Sunday, the Madrid team hosted the resilient Athletic from Bilbao at the "Santiago Bernabéu" — a team traditionally set to fight to the maximum. The Basques closed up well in defense and held off the hosts' attacks in the first half, essentially building a concrete wall in front of their penalty area. The winning goal for the "Whites" came in stoppage time, when Fede Valverde unleashed a rocket with his right foot and hit the far top corner — 1:0. A goal at the end of the match — and three points stayed in the capital.
Probable Line-ups
- Getafe: David Soria – Diego Rico, Omar Alderete, Domingos Duarte, Djené – Mauro Arambarri, Ramon Terrats – Luis Milla, Koba da Costa, Jesús Santiago – Juanmi
- Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois – Antonio Rüdiger, Fran García, Lucas Vázquez, Raúl Asensio – Aurélien Tchouaméni, Arda Güler, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga – Rodrygo Goes, Kylian Mbappé
Match Facts and Head-to-Head
- In the first round, Real defeated the "City Team" with a score of 2:0
- The "Over 2.5 Goals" bet came through in one of the last five matches
- The "Both Teams to Score" option came through in one out of five encounters
Prediction
Bookmakers favor the visitors in this match and offer odds of 1.84 for Real's victory. The "Whites" cannot afford to drop points now, and our bet here is "Real to Win".
