La Liga: Betis vs Girona is a Top Draw Opener

Real Betis vs Girona

Spanish football is on the crest of a wave after the national La Roja teams lifted the European Championships and the Olympics Golden Medal and, now that La Liga is back, this is a truly great time to be a football fan in Spain.

The new league season starts on Thursday with two fascinating fixtures as Athletic Bilbao lift the curtain on a home match with Getafe and then Real Betis host Girona in the evening clash. Three highly fancied teams are on show, with respect to Getafe fans of course; and the 8-30 pm kick off really is in the balance.  

The pre-season La Liga 2024 betting odds make Real Betis and Girona joint sixth favourites to win the title, at a SBOTOP price of 40.00, and on the heels of the Basque pair of Bilbao and Real Sociedad behind the big three. They are both European hopefuls and the Benito Villamarin Stadium in Seville will be bouncing on Thursday night as Betis and Girona come to blows.

It’s going to be a hot one!   

 

Talking Points

Busy Betis are still in the market

Manuel Pellegrini led Real Betis to a seventh placed finish last term and he will be hopeful of bettering that in 2024/25; and he has been working hard to strengthen his squad in readiness for the new season. Keeper Adrian has signed on a free transfer from Liverpool to challenge Rui Silva for the gloves and Pellegrini is trying to bolster his defensive options following the departure German Pezzella to Argentina. Betis are currently talking to Napoli with a view to bringing 23 year old Brazilian Natan to Spain after his first season in Naples. He made 14 appearances last season but reports in Italy say Natan is not part of manager Antonio Conte’s immediate plans and he could be receptive to a move. 

Up front Ayoze Perez is inching closer to a switch to Villarreal and the former Leicester City man will be a big miss for Betis, after he scored nine goals in 31 games last season, as well as providing plenty of ammunition for his co-strikers. Perez is a fast and direct runner with quick feet and a good passing range and Pellegrini is scouring the Premier League for a replacement.

Tottenham Hotspur’s 28 year old forward Giovanni Lo Celso is on the Betis radar and if Pellegrini can bring him to the club that will be a real coup. He has 57 appearances for La Albiceleste and La Liga experience, having played on loan at Villarreal, and he played for Betis between 2018 and 2020 before his big money move to North London. But Lo Celso has struggled to nail down a place with Spurs and he may well be happy to move back to familiar ground. Los Verdiblancos are keen but they might face competition from Aston Villa who can offer Lo Celso Champions League football.         

 

Life after Dovbyk begins for Girona  

After such a monumental campaign last term, 2024/25 presents a new challenge for Girona who have Champions League football to look forward to; and La Liga 2024 results will be paramount too as head coach Michel plans for life among the elite. But he will have to do so without last season’s league top scorer Artem Dovbyk, who has moved to Roma in a 35m Euros deal. The 27 year old Ukrainian bagged 24 goals in 36 games last season to edge out Villarreal’s Alexander Sorloth in the race for the Golden Boot and leaving the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Antoine Griezmann in his wake.   

Michel is looking for a replacement for Dovbyk and he has already splashed put 9m Euros to bring 24 year old Spanish striker Abel Ruiz from SC Braga. And on Monday Girona agreed a deal worth £7m for Aberdeen’s North Macedonian goal machine Bojan Miovski, with the paperwork underway. The 25 year old would be nearer to a like for like replacement at the same height as Dovbyk (6ft 2in) and with 32 goals in 77 games for the Dons in his two years at Pittodrie, and Champions League football is a tempting prospect for the striker.       

 

History

Betis have had the better of the head to heads against Girona with tens wins to two; and there have been two draws in all competitions over the past 15 years.

And Los Verdiblancos have not lost at home to Girona in the last six home games; last season this clash ended in a 1-1 draw while Girona won their home fixture 3-2

 

Betting Tip

Girona are priced at 2.76 to pick up three early points and the draw is at odds of 3.16, but I think Betis will be right up for this in front of their fans and I can see a home win.

A Betis win by the odd goal in three would point to Over 2.50 goals at 1.93 and 2-3 goals at 1.94 as alternative bets; and I think all three options will be pretty near the mark.  

   

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