Real Betis vs. Celta Vigo 1/2/22 LaLiga Soccer Pick, Predictions, and Odds

Real Betis is hosting Celta Vigo at Benito Villamarin in round 19 of the Spanish LaLiga. Betis is one of the nicest surprises in LaLiga so far this season, and even though we knew they can play great, it’s to see them finally do so. Celta is underperforming this season, and I’m not sure they have the mentality to snap out of it this season.

Surprisingly, Betis is now in 3^rd place in the standings, ad even though the top is probably out of their reach, Betis would certainly love to qualify for the Champions League next season. Betis has been outstanding in the attacking end this season with 32 scored goals, which is more than Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, and Barcelona. Defensively, Betis has also been doing a great job with only 21 conceded goals in 18 games. Betis’ schedule over the next few weeks is where it gets tricky for them, and they will be facing teams like Celta, Rayo, and Alaves. The injury list is pretty short for Betis, and Sabaly and Akouokou are the only two injured players, and the even better news is there aren’t any covid cases in Betis as of right now. With 11 scored goals so far, Juanmi is the leading goalscorer for Betis, while Jose added 4 goals and 4 assists. I gotta say, I love this Betis team, they are not overly focused on defense, and their offense is performing on a high level this season.

We all know Celta can score goals, but they have been wildly inconsistent when it comes to scoring this season, and they don’t have a lot of offensive variety. Aspas is the best player in this team, and he is their leading goalscorer with 8 goals, while Santi Mina added 6 goals and 2 assists. There aren’t any injured or any covid positive players in Celta as of right now. Celta is now on a 3-game streak without a loss, and they have beaten Espanyol in their last LaLiga game just before the winter break. I was hoping Celta could finally have a breakout season where they will be competing for the Europa League, but because of another terrible start to the season, they will be fighting to stay outside the relegation zone. Celta is now in 14^th place with 20 points. As I’ve mentioned, Celta is underperforming, they are not scoring as much as they should, and their defense is also inconsistent, but they are a solid team overall.

I think that Betis is the better team here overall, I think they are playing better soccer, but I’m not willing to side with them as Celta could surprise us here. I’m taking goals on both sides in this game.