Betis vs Osasuna prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2022-08-25 20:00.
Following a 2-1 win at Mallorca, La Liga (LL) trailblazers Real Betis stand on the brink of opening a top-flight campaign with three straight victories. They last managed that feat in 2011/12, though they will hope to avoid the slump that saw them eventually finish 13th, especially as the club’s search for a first top-four LL finish is now well into its second decade.
As for short term aspirations, Betis are also targeting a first hat-trick of clean-sheet home league wins since March/April 2018, after their 3-0 opening-day stroll against Elche. While emulating that is easier said than done, they beat Osasuna by the same three-goal margin here (4-1) back in April to mark their fifth straight home H2H win, bolstering their status as pre-match favourites.
However, Osasuna are also flawless so far after opening their season with two home victories, and now target their maiden three-game perfect start to a top-flight season this century. Their away form to end last season was poor though, as they managed just one win in their last seven trips (D2, L4), but at least the Pamplona club can take encouragement from both starting last campaign with four straight road wins, and having won each of their opening away league games since returning to the top flight (W3).
Regardless of the result here, Osasuna are guaranteed to at least match the six points from nine that set them on course for a joint all-time high of fourth place in 2005/06, with the aim this season for Jagoba Arrasate – the league’s current longest serving coach – to improve on their three straight mid-table finishes and possibly even target a European place.
Players to watch: Juanmi netted a first-half brace for Betis against Osasuna in April – one of six wins (D1, L1) in matches that saw him net before half-time during 2021/22. In opposition, Ezequiel Ávila has netted the opener in both rounds, setting him up to be the first Osasuna man to score in the opening three games of a LL campaign since Savo Milošević in 2004.
Hot streak: None of the previous 12 league H2Hs at Betis have seen both teams score before half-time.