Opposition watch: Real Betis hold the champions

Pellegrini’s team are now unbeaten in their last four fixtures, following a 4-3 home defeat to Celta Vigo at the beginning of February.

A little over a week ago, Betis’s star midfielder, Nabil Fekir, was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Fekir was the only scorer in our 1-0 friendly defeat during the winter training camp in December.

However, if the performance against Real Madrid is anything to go by, the Seville-based team still present more than enough threat to cause their opponents issues without the Frenchman.