Last Updated on April 23, 2026 12:30 pm by ZUWP Automation
Real Madrid arrive in Seville having lost three of their last five — can Betis capitalise on the champions’ wobble?
Three defeats in five matches. For most clubs in La Liga, that is a rough patch. For Real Madrid, it is something closer to an identity crisis. When they travel to Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla on Friday, they will face a Betis side that has just beaten Girona away from home — and a home crowd that will sense exactly what the form table is telling them.
Match Details
- Fixture: Real Betis vs Real Madrid
- Venue: Estadio La Cartuja de Sevilla
- Date: 24 April 2026
- Competition: La Liga 2025/26
Current Form
Real Madrid’s recent run makes for uncomfortable reading: 1W 1D 3L in their last five. Their sole win came against Deportivo Alavés, a 2-1 home result that offered little reassurance. Either side of it, they lost 1-2 to Mallorca away, drew 0-0 with Girona at home, and were beaten twice by FC Bayern München — 1-2 at the Bernabéu and then 3-4 away.
That Bayern double-header has left visible marks. Momentum, confidence, the sense of inevitability that Madrid carry in their best periods — none of it is present right now. They arrive in Seville not as a side building towards something, but as one searching for it.
Betis, by contrast, have given themselves something to work with. Their own five-match run reads 1W 2D 2L, which is hardly emphatic, but the timing of their win matters: a 3-2 victory at Girona last Tuesday, just three days before this fixture. They lost to Sporting Braga twice in the Europa League in the same period — 0-1 away and 2-4 at home — but those results carry different weight to what happens in the league on Friday night. The Betis that showed up at Girona is the one they will want to replicate here.
Key Players to Watch
Real Betis
Pablo Fornals is the engine of everything Betis do going forward. Seven goals and four assists in 31 appearances this season, with a season average rating of 7.28 — the highest of any outfield player at the club with significant minutes. His 63 key passes rank him among the most creative midfielders in the division, and his 1,330 total passes place him 33rd in La Liga for passing volume. When Betis are at their best, the ball moves through Fornals.
Abde Ezzalzouli provides the cutting edge that Fornals sets up. Six goals and five assists from 22 appearances, with nine big chances created — good enough for 43rd in La Liga. His 7.22 average rating reflects a player who affects matches rather than simply occupying space. He is the kind of forward who can punish a Madrid defence that has been leaking.
Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé remains the most dangerous forward in the division by a considerable distance. Twenty-three goals in 27 appearances — the La Liga scoring chart’s runaway leader. He has scored 18 of his big chances and missed 15, which means he is both clinical and volume-dependent. Even a Madrid side short of its best carries a threat that no opponent can simply plan away.
Arda Güler has been Madrid’s most consistent creator this season: four goals, eight assists, 13 big chances created (12th in La Liga), and a 7.37 average rating across 31 appearances. His 61 key passes make him the fulcrum of Madrid’s attacking play. If Madrid are going to find their way back to something resembling form, it will likely run through Güler.
Federico Valverde completes the picture. Five goals, seven assists, 39 key passes and a 7.34 average rating — he is the box-to-box presence that gives Madrid’s midfield its physical and creative backbone. In a side that has looked uncertain recently, Valverde has been one of the few consistent performers.
Season Stats Comparison
The individual talent gap between these two sides is stark when you line up their standout performers. Mbappé’s 23 goals against Fornals’s 7 tells the story of two clubs operating at very different levels of attacking output. But Betis’s creative machinery — Fornals as the league’s 33rd-highest passer, Ezzalzouli as a top-45 chance creator — suggests this is not a side that will simply sit back and absorb.
| Stat | Real Betis | Real Madrid |
|---|---|---|
| Top Scorer | Fornals — 7 goals (54th in La Liga) | Mbappé — 23 goals (1st in La Liga) |
| Top Assister | Ezzalzouli — 5 assists (22nd) | Güler — 8 assists (6th) |
| Top Chance Creator | Ezzalzouli — 9 big chances (43rd) | Güler — 13 big chances (12th) |
| Top Passer | Fornals — 1,330 passes (33rd) | Valverde — 1,539 passes (14th) |
| Top Goalkeeper (saves) | Álvaro Valles — 65 saves | Thibaut Courtois — 58 saves |
One figure worth pausing on: Álvaro Valles has made 65 saves this season, more than Courtois’s 58. That is not a mark of superiority — it reflects how much more Betis’s defence has been asked to do. Against Mbappé, Valles will need every bit of that experience.
Head to Head
The recent history between these sides is limited but instructive. In their last three meetings, Real Madrid have won once, with two draws — a record that tells you Betis are no pushover in this fixture, even if the overall balance of power is obvious.
The last time they met, in January 2026, Madrid won 1-0 at the Bernabéu. A single goal separated the sides, and Betis left without a result but not without a performance. That narrow margin will not have been forgotten in Seville.
Closing Paragraph
The central tension of this fixture is simple but loaded: a Real Madrid side that has lost three of their last five arrives to face a Betis who just won away from home and will have the crowd and the momentum behind them. Mbappé’s 23 goals mean Madrid never stop being dangerous, but Fornals, Ezzalzouli and a Betis side with nothing to fear are more than capable of making this uncomfortable. The question Friday night will answer is whether Madrid’s individual quality is enough to override what their recent form has been saying about them.