Preview: Real meets Real as Betis travel to MadridShareReal Madrid host Real Betis as Xabi Alonso’s side aim to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona, but they’ll be forced to try and do so without one of their star men, Kylian Mbappé.By Matt SmithBetis are on a charge to try and reach Champions League qualification, but it doesn’t get much tougher than Madrid away from home.In this fixture last season, Madrid secured a 2-0 victory on their own turf, and it was the aforementioned Mbappé who stole the headlines, scoring a second-half brace. That is the only win that Madrid have recorded in their last five meetings with Betis.Team newsÉder Militão and Trent Alexander-Arnold remain out for the home side, and they’re joined on the treatment table by Mbappé, who suffered a knee injury this week, which could keep him out for the remainder of the month. Brahim Díaz is at AFCON, while Dani Carvajal is a doubt.For Betis, former-Madrid man Isco should be the only player missing due to injury, but they will be without a trio of stars due to AFCON. Sofyan Amrabat, Cédric Bakambu, and Abde Ezzalzouli are all unavailable.Madrid not quite clinical enoughLabelling Madrid not clinical enough might sound crazy, with the Spanish giants scoring 36 goals already this season, but they are having to compete with one of the best sides in Europe in Barcelona. Xabi Alonso’s men have created 42.4 expected goals, more than any other team, but they’ve scored 15 goals fewer than Barcelona.They’ve now got to deal with the loss of Mbappé. The French international has been their primary source of goals this season, finding the back of the net a whopping 18 times in LaLiga already. Madrid’s next top goalscorer is Vinícius Júnior with just five.Betis the draw specialistsSixth placed Betis have to start finding a way of turning draws into wins in LaLiga if they want to mount a serious charge for the Champions League places. They’ve drawn as many games as they’ve won this season, and six of their seven stalemates have come away from home. It’s clearly the way they set up on the road that has prevented them from picking up more victories, but they have to start taking a few more risks away from home. Maybe Real Madrid isn’t the game you want to start trying that, but it could be the difference between them getting top four or not in the long run. Time for Vinícius to make a statementIt’s been a disappointing season for Vinícius by his standards, and it’s now the perfect time for him to step up to the plate. Mbappé’s injury places more pressure on the shoulders of the Brazilian forward to produce in the final third, something which he’s struggled to do of late.Vinícius has failed to score in his previous 10 LaLiga matches, producing just one assist during that time. There’s no better time for him to turn things around, and Alonso is going to need him to if they’re going to pick up results without one of their star men.PredictionAn Mbappé-less Madrid should still have enough to beat Betis at home. We’re going for a narrow 2-1 home victory.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Preview: Real meets Real as Betis travel to MadridReal Madrid host Real Betis as Xabi Alonso’s side aim to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona, but they’ll be forced to try and do so without one of their star men, Kylian Mbappé.By Matt SmithBetis are on a charge to try and reach Champions League qualification, but it doesn’t get much tougher than Madrid away from home.In this fixture last season, Madrid secured a 2-0 victory on their own turf, and it was the aforementioned Mbappé who stole the headlines, scoring a second-half brace. That is the only win that Madrid have recorded in their last five meetings with Betis.Team newsÉder Militão and Trent Alexander-Arnold remain out for the home side, and they’re joined on the treatment table by Mbappé, who suffered a knee injury this week, which could keep him out for the remainder of the month. Brahim Díaz is at AFCON, while Dani Carvajal is a doubt.For Betis, former-Madrid man Isco should be the only player missing due to injury, but they will be without a trio of stars due to AFCON. Sofyan Amrabat, Cédric Bakambu, and Abde Ezzalzouli are all unavailable.Madrid not quite clinical enoughLabelling Madrid not clinical enough might sound crazy, with the Spanish giants scoring 36 goals already this season, but they are having to compete with one of the best sides in Europe in Barcelona. Xabi Alonso’s men have created 42.4 expected goals, more than any other team, but they’ve scored 15 goals fewer than Barcelona.They’ve now got to deal with the loss of Mbappé. The French international has been their primary source of goals this season, finding the back of the net a whopping 18 times in LaLiga already. Madrid’s next top goalscorer is Vinícius Júnior with just five.Betis the draw specialistsSixth placed Betis have to start finding a way of turning draws into wins in LaLiga if they want to mount a serious charge for the Champions League places. They’ve drawn as many games as they’ve won this season, and six of their seven stalemates have come away from home. It’s clearly the way they set up on the road that has prevented them from picking up more victories, but they have to start taking a few more risks away from home. Maybe Real Madrid isn’t the game you want to start trying that, but it could be the difference between them getting top four or not in the long run. Time for Vinícius to make a statementIt’s been a disappointing season for Vinícius by his standards, and it’s now the perfect time for him to step up to the plate. Mbappé’s injury places more pressure on the shoulders of the Brazilian forward to produce in the final third, something which he’s struggled to do of late.Vinícius has failed to score in his previous 10 LaLiga matches, producing just one assist during that time. There’s no better time for him to turn things around, and Alonso is going to need him to if they’re going to pick up results without one of their star men.PredictionAn Mbappé-less Madrid should still have enough to beat Betis at home. We’re going for a narrow 2-1 home victory.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the LaLiga with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.