Real Zaragoza vs Real Betis Balompie
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Today’s secondary featured game is the Primera Liga game between Real Zaragoza and Real Betis Balompie.
It’s squeaky bum time for Zaragoza, who are currently eight points from safety at the foot of the table. I can’t say that I regard Zaragoza to be the worst side in the division but they’ve earned their place in the table through a series of bad displays earlier this season. Zaragoza aren’t secure defensively – we all know that – but to lose their ability in front of goal was just suicidal and it’s shown so far this season.
However, times have changed in the Zaragoza camp since Jimenez was appointed. He’s restored their belief and Zaragoza are not only playing better football but they look smarter tactically too. Their results don’t show it anywhere near as much as they could or should but their 0-2 win at Espanyol last time out should finally give them the platform that they need to get themselves out of this mess. Opinion is a little divided on that game as to the manner of Zaragoza’s victory – some say Espanyol dominated but were wasteful, for example. I have a different view here. My view is Zaragoza played that game perfectly, hitting Espanyol on counter-attacks and allowing them to play their game knowing full well that Espanyol are one of the most wasteful sides in the Primera Liga in front of goal. I think it was a tactical masterclass from Zaragoza, which is something that they’ve shown very few times so far this season.
Are Zaragoza going to get out of the drop zone? I wouldn’t rule it out, purely because Sporting Gijon, Racing Santander, Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, and even today’s opponents Real Betis Balompie aren’t as good as Zaragoza, in my view. Still, it’s going to be an uphill task for Zaragoza to take all the points that they need to avoid the drop hence why I’m not sure if they’ll make it or not.
Lanzaro is out at the back for Zaragoza today, which is a big blow for their defence as he’s basically the mainstay of it. However, I’m not too concerned because Zaragoza must go for three points here and don’t pay much attention to defending anyway. Fellow defender Mateos is absent too but that’s not a great concern. Aside from that, Jimenez has a full compliment of players to choose from and with Zaragoza’s forwards finally starting to link up well with the side playing well as a whole (and not just Juan Carlos for a change!) you have to give them a shout here.
Betis are a bit of a funny side to bet for or against on the basis that they’re masters of the counter-attack but they’re pretty useless at every other aspect of football. They’re horrendous defensively and short of Primera Liga quality overall. However, they have decent cohesion and their counter-attacks are just amazing sometimes, which means Zaragoza will have to be careful here.
Can Betis upset the odds here though? I’m not so sure. I’d never rule them out because of their unpredictable nature but the general hot-headed nature of their players coupled with an abundance of Segunda Liga quality in their ranks convinces me that this side is more likely to implode than it is to win games.
Now, to counter-attack well, it goes without saying that the side needs to win the ball back from their opponents, usually in the middle of the park as that’s where the bulk of attacks tend to begin. Indeed, that’s Betis should be looking to do here with Zaragoza tending to pack their midfield and attack as one. That would normally be superb for Betis to handle but there’s one problem that I think will be quite large for them here and that’s the absence of holding midfielder Iriney. You know, you can rave about the playmaking of Benat in the middle of the park but it’s Iriney that sweeps up the mess, wins the ball back etc. His absence means that Betis will see less of the ball unless Zaragoza are particularly wasteful and that damages their counter-attacking game. Santa Cruz and Castro are dangerous strikers if not handled correctly but I just don’t see them getting the service here without Iriney playing his pivotal role in the plans of the Andaluscians.
Therefore, I’m giving Zaragoza the nod here in what is frankly a massive game for both sides. Betis have lost eight out of their last nine away games and Zaragoza are playing well enough to make that nine defeats in ten games. Both sides scoring here is far from impossible but I don’t see Zaragoza losing this one. Indeed, I think they’ll win it, given the drastic improvement in their forward line of late. Let’s also not forget that Jimenez is a stout Sevilla CF man by nature – I’m sure he’d love to get one over on his beloved club’s bitter rivals today!
Verdict: Real Zaragoza to win with draw no bet at 5/6.
Monday’s Picks
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts to prevent endless questions about my thoughts on certain games!
Argentinian Primera Division:
Tigre vs San Martin de San Juan (7) 1-0
Cypriot Division 1:
Alki Larnaca vs AEK Larnaca (5) 2-2
Czech Republic Gambrinus Liga:
Sigma Olomouc vs Ceske Budejovice (5) 2-1
Israeli Ligat Ha’al:
Beitar Jerusalem vs Maccabi Tel-Aviv (5) 1-1, at least one red card in this game
Paraguayan Division Profesional:
Tacuary vs Libertad Asuncion (4) 1-1
Polish Ekstraklasa:
Korona Kielce vs Jagiellonia Bialystok (6) 1-0
Portuguese Liga Sagres:
Vitoria Guimaraes vs SL Benfica (8) over 2.5 goals
Spanish Primera Liga:
Real Zaragoza vs Real Betis Balompie (7) 2-1
Turkish Super Lig:
Bursaspor vs Istanbul BB (4) 0-0
Enjoy your free betting tips!