Betis vs Real Sociedad prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-05-18 17:00.
[p]Two sides vying for sixth and seventh place in La Liga meet here, as Real Betis take on Real Sociedad knowing only a win will keep their hopes of finishing sixth in their own hands. With sixth spot now almost certain to yield UEFA Europa League (UEL) football, a 2-2 draw to bottom half Las Palmas in midweek certainly did little to help Betis’ chances of gracing Europe’s second-tier club competition for a fourth season running, although some sort of continental action next season looks likely.[/p]
[p]Don’t write Betis off for that top-six berth just yet though, as they’ve hit a purple patch in recent weeks, going unbeaten in their last six La Liga outings (W4, D2). But with their final day clash coming away to champions Real Madrid, there’s added emphasis on them to get a result here against a side they’re unbeaten against in five H2Hs (W2, D3), with this the 100th La Liga meeting between these two sides. [/p]
[p]Sociedad will hope to bring up the century by at least scoring a goal, something they didn’t manage in those five aforementioned H2Hs. Goals have been at a premium in Sociedad’s recent games as well (W4, D2, L2) as only one saw more than two total goals, and having gone down 2-0 at Barcelona in their last away league outing, they’re now at risk of losing successive La Liga road trips for the first time since April 2023.[/p]
[p]Ironically, both defeats in April 2023’s sequence came by a 2-0 scoreline, and given eight of Imanol Alguacil’s 11 failures to win against Betis as a manager (W3, D6, L5) saw his side fail to score, he must be fearing a repeat of history. But with Sociedad unbeaten in their last eight Sunday-held fixtures in all competitions this season (W4, D4), and incentivised by knowing a win would rubber stamp their UEL ticket, they ought to feel confident of holding Betis at bay in the race for the top six.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Ayoze Pérez has scored in four of Betis’ last five La Liga games, netting the decisive winning strike in three of those. Sociedad’s André Silva scored after three minutes in their midweek win over Valencia, and having opened the scoring on four of his last seven La Liga scoring appearances, he likes to have an early say. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Betis have scored at least twice in six of their last seven La Liga matches. [/p]