La Liga Tips: Back Isco to lead Betis to derby revenge against Sevilla | OneFootball

Spanish LaLiga

Isco has been in fine form since returning from injury

Matchday 29 features a huge derby clash between Real Betis and Sevilla on Sunday night, where Jamie Kemp is expecting talisman Isco to help them end their barren run in the fixture...

Betfair Saturday Football Superboost

The FA Cup quarter-finals begin with a London derby at Craven Cottage where Fulham host Crystal Palace and it's a visiting player who takes centre stage in the Betfair Saturday Football Superboost.

Jean-Philippe Mateta has registered 12 shots on target in his last 10 games and Betfair have boosted the price on him having one or more here from 1/2 to 1/1.

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Real Madrid v Leganes - Sat, 20:00

Real Madrid have, unsurprisingly, never lost against fellow Madrid side Leganes in La Liga (W7 D2). Across their nine meetings, they've averaged exactly three goals per game, scoring 27 times and only conceding eight in return. And in this season's reverse fixture, they made light work of the promoted side in a 3-0 victory across town at Butarque.

With all that's riding in the fixture, too, this looks a pretty clear home win for Carlo Ancelotti's side. Leganes, despite defending well (even if they have to defend a lot), simply don't have the attacking tools to respond to going behind in this game, and it's unlikely they're going to keep themselves level throughout 90+ minutes.

Borja Jimenez's side rank in the bottom three teams in La Liga this term for both xG for (19th) and xG conceded (18th), while Real Madrid rank in the top three in both measures (2nd for, 3rd conceded). Even with any rotation given their upcoming Champions League date with Arsenal, this should be a Bernabeu game where their attackers are enthused by their chances to make their mark and get some goals/assists to their name.

The question then becomes about who will actually line up for Real Madrid in this one, what with a host of their players having been away on international duty and Ancelotti needing to take care of his players with the business end of the season fast approaching.

It seems likely that the South American players will be given a light return, so it should fall on one of Kylian Mbappe and/or Jude Bellingham from the European side to cover the shortfall of star power here - even if the plan is only to play them for 45-60 minutes and ideally get the game wrapped up by the time they leave the pitch.

Mbappe has opened the scoring on seven occasions for Real Madrid in La Liga this season, with only Robert Lewandowski (9) and Julian Alvarez (8) doing so more often. Five of those seven have been scored within the opening 30 minutes of play, and he netted the game's first goal in the reverse fixture against Leganes too. At 5/2 to open the scoring here, I'll go with Mbappe to repeat the feat on Saturday.

Barcelona v Girona - Sun, 15:15

It's a tight turnaround for Barcelona between league games this week, to say the least. After hosting Osasuna on Thursday night, Hansi Flick's side welcome Girona less than 72 hours later for a Catalan derby on Sunday afternoon.

Of course, if you're a fan of Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, you'd have been looking at this week as a point where Barcelona could well cede points in the title race. Though they managed to pass the hurdle of Osasuna pretty comfortably, Girona should offer those sides another chance, what with it being a derby match.

Indeed, for as good as Hansi Flick's side have been this season, it'd be understandable if Barcelona aren't quite at their best come Sunday. The German hasn't been one for mass rotation this season, and now factoring in the international players just returning, a lot of his key contributors have been playing heavy minutes in recent months. Spain's two-legged blockbuster with the Netherlands certainly wasn't ideal for the Catalan side.

One man in a slightly different situation, however, will be Raphinha. The Brazilian was left out of Thursday's game owing to his time away with Brazil during the international break, affording him a bit longer to recover on his return to club football. And given the way his break went - ending in a rather humiliating defeat to their great rivals Argentina, after having talked up a big game beforehand - he's just the type of player who'll be chomping at the bit to get going again.

On club duties, Raphinha has been directly involved in 20 goals in his last 16 appearances across all competitions, and has either scored or assisted in five of his most recent six. One of the front runners for the Ballon d'Or, he hasn't had much adversity so far this season, and he'll be wanting to respond immediately to Brazil's embarrassing night in Argentina.

Overall, I'll go with the South American to score anytime here, and throw in both sides to score. Girona have netted in 14 of their last 17 league games, while the home side have been essentially impossible to keep out this season (even if they are in a demanding part of the schedule).

Real Betis v Sevilla - Sun, 20:00

It's not quite summer in Seville, but Europe's hottest derby returns on Sunday evening. And there's one team coming into this one in particularly hot fashion... Real Betis are on the longest winning streak in La Liga (five games).

Indeed, this is Betis's best run of form in league competition since 2018, while only Barcelona (18) have won more points than them (16) since the start of February. As you'll have likely heard, Antony has had a superb impact from Manuel Pellegrini's side in this period, and combined with the likes of Isco, Jesus Rodriguez and Cucho Hernandez, they've formed one of the most vibrant attacks in the division in recent months.

Their recent resurgence makes for a fascinating Gran Derbi, and that's because they've struggled hugely in this fixture in recent history. In fact, they haven't beaten Sevilla in La Liga since September 2018, failing to do so in all 12 meetings since then (D5 L7). Manuel Pellegrini won't want to come out of his 10th La Liga game as a manager in this fixture still looking for his first victory over their city rivals.

As for Sevilla and their much better record in this fixture of late, there's a clear divergence on current form between the two sides. Garcia Pimienta's team haven't looked very convincing at any point of this campaign, and wins have been hard to come by. They've won just two of their last eight in La Liga (D4 L2), and one of those came against potentially one of the worst top-flight sides we've ever seen in the form of Real Valladolid.

This looks as good a time as ever for Real Betis to bring their barren run against Sevilla to an end, and the Benito Villamarin will be absolutely electric, knowing that, come Sunday evening. I'll take the home side to win and throw in a goal or assist anytime for Isco.

The home side's talisman has been directly involved in nine goals in 13 league games this term (six goals, three assists), and after his failed spell at Sevilla in 2022-23, there'll be plenty of motivation on his part to show his old team who are the real kings of Seville.

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