58' Vinicius takes on two Betis defenders inside the penalty area, getting past both of them with a lovely turn but his centring pass is intercepted and hammered away by Gonzalez at the edge of the 18-yard box.
57' Both sets of supporters come together to have a laugh at the referee, who gets in the way of a Casemiro slide tackle and is promptly sent to the deck. It’s all smiles from Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez, who looks to have avoided injury.
56' Real Madrid have started the second half in fantastic fashion, putting Betis under serious pressure. The fourth official is the only thing standing between Los Blancos and a breakthrough, with Benzema unable to hold his run on three key occasions so far this evening.
54' REAL MADRID SCORE BUT IT’S OFFSIDE! Casemiro’s chipped cross from the left-hand side of the penalty area finds the head of Benzema, who beats Silva easily - but again the visitors are left disappointed as the striker was unable to hold his run!
52' WHAT AN INCREDIBLE SAVE! Bale is allowed time and space to shape for a trademark left-footed cross, which finds a charging Benzema just outside the six-yard box. The France international powers a close-range header at goal forcing a beautiful reaction save by Silva, though again it won't count for offisde.
50' It’s taken short as it looks to be a routine from the training ground, but the set-piece fails as Madrid are able to get the ball away from their 18-yard box without allowing a shot.
49' Vinicius catches Montoya’s head with a raised boot during an attempt to break on the counter, giving Betis a free-kick just outside Madrid’s penalty area.
48' Benzema gets into the penalty are and swivels to turn his defender before curling a shot with his right foot which sails high over the crossbar.
46' Real Betis get the match restarted from the kick-off!
Having scored six of their seven goals after the half-time restart, Real Madrid will no doubt proceed with confidence. Despite injuries to a number of key players, Ancelotti still has a wealth of talent at his disposal from the substitute’s bench, with Asensio, Hazard and Rodrygo all capable of making an impact. Three of Betis’ four forward players have been booked, which could cause Pellegrini trouble late into the match. Club legend Joaquin or former Barcelona winger Tello could make an impact, providing fresh legs and a direct mentality.
An entertaining but goalless first half at Benito Villamarin comes to a close as neither side is able to do enough to trouble the opposition’s goalkeeper. Both Silva and Courtois have been left relatively untroubled as both Real Betis and Real Madrid look smooth in possession without much of an end-product. Both Benzema and Montoya had chances to open the scoring, but neither were able to hit the target under pressure. A flurry of yellow cards late in the half saw a rise in intensity as Manuel Pellegrini became animated on the touchline, which should set us up for an intriguing second frame.
45' + 3' HALF-TIME: REAL BETIS 0-0 REAL MADRID.
45' + 2' The fourth official indicates three minutes will be added at the end of the half for stoppages.
42' Juanmi chests down a long pass well and breaks into the penalty area before whacking a right-footed shot towards goal, forcing a great diving parry out of Courtois.
40' After drawing his first two home games against Real Madrid in LaLiga, both as Villarreal coach, Real Betis coach Manuel Pellegrini has alternated between a win and a defeat in his last six home games against Los Blancos in the competition.
38' Isco’s corner finds a wide-open Miltao, who heads it forward to Benzema. The striker springs forward and uses his head to put an effort towards goal but Silva is quick off his line to make an unlikely save. It wouldn’t have counted in the end though, as the linesman raises his flag for offside in the build-up.
36' Montoya cuts inside with intent and fires towards Courtois with his weaker left foot and sends the ball just wide of the near post!
35' Isco’s corner finds the backheel of Casemiro, but the flick-on fails to get through the crowd of bodies as Betis come away with possession following the water break.
33' The referee sends both teams to the touchline as he indicates for a water break, allowing both sides to hydrate in the Seville heat.
31' Fekir takes a speculative shot at goal from 25 yards out but the effort never looked likely to hit the target as Courtois can gather for a goal-kick.
29' An early mishit cross from the left by Canales gives Courtois a bit of a scare as the delivery certainly looked on-target for the near post, but it misses the mark and goes behind for a goal-kick.
27' With seven goals in their first two matches, this Real Madrid attack will be difficult to stop, however, they are a side that come to life in the second half of matches, scoring six goals after the restart.
25' A hopeful pass is hit over the top for Juanmi from midfield, but Alaba beats the forward for pace and allows Courtois to come off his line to pick up the ball at the front of the penalty area.
22' Miranda’s overzealous press down the left gets him in trouble as he sends Carvajal to the ground twice in quick succession, giving Madrid a free-kick and denying a potential counter-attack.
20' Ruibal is sent to the ground during a one-on-one duel with Gutierrez which wins his side a free-kick. It’s a welcome sight for Betis, who have found it very difficult to win back possession in the last five minutes.
18' Real Madrid's Benzema has been involved in six goals in his last seven visits to Benito Villamarín in LaLiga (five goals and one assist) - only at Mestalla and Ipurúa (six each) has he scored more away goals in the competition.
16' Alaba takes a Real Madrid corner looking for Casemiro, but the delivery is sent above the head of the leaping Brazil international - allowing the Betis defence to scramble it away.
14' Canales finds Fekir in midfield, but the forward fails to control the simple pass and allows Vinicius to step in ahead and win possession, before fouling the Real Madrid winger and giving away a free-kick.
12' The corner is taken short but played back to Fekir, who launches a cross to the far post looking for a team-mate, but Militao is able to clear up the danger and take possession back for his side.
11' Fekir uses his left foot and goes for goal looking to catch the goalkeeper napping, but Courtois dives across with ease and turns the shot behind for a corner.
11' Fekir is brought down by Alaba outside Madrid’s penalty area on the left, giving Betis their first real opportunity to test Courtois.
10' Betis are moving it from right to left in midfield as they look for an opening to expose Madrid as Canales looks to dictate play, but Ancelotti’s side are giving their opponents nothing - holding their shape well to keep the hosts at bay.
8' Isco takes a free-kick from deep in midfield after Valverde was taken down by Fekir and manages to find Militao after a deflection on the delivery, but the centre-back’s shot is an easy one for Silva to save.
6' GREAT CHANCE GOES BEGGING FOR MADRID! Vinicius plays a one-two with Benzema and gets by Rodriguez easily with a turn of pace. The ball is centred back to Benzema on the penalty spot, but the captain’s first-time strike misses the target narrowly!
4' The corner comes into the area but Guardado at the near post manages to scramble it away at the first time of asking.
3' Carvajal plays an incisive pass into the penalty area for Valverde, who manages to stay onside and win a corner-kick after his cross is turned behind by Ruiz.
1' Real Madrid get the match underway from the kick-off!
Real Madrid keep the same shape but make three alterations from their 3-3 draw with Levante last weekend. Vazquez is dropped at right-back for Carvajal, while the introduction of left-back Gutierrez for Nacho allows Alaba to play at centre-back alongside Militao. In attack, there’s no room for Hazard as Ancelotti rewards Vinicius with a start for his goal against Levante.
Betis make three changes from their 1-1 draw with Cadiz last time out. Pezzella replaces Gonzalez in defence, while Rodriguez is preferred to Rodri in midfield. The final switch comes in attack, where Ruibal gets a start on the wing, pushing Juanmi forward as the lone striker which drops Iglesias to the bench.
REAL MADRID SUBS: Eden Hazard, Luis Lopez, Antonio Blanco, Toni Fuidias, Luka Jovic, Marco Asensio, Rodrygo, Jesus Vallejo, Lucas Vazquez.
REAL MADRID XI (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Miltao, David Alaba, Miguel Gutierrez; Federico Valverde, Casemiro, Isco; Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
REAL BETIS SUBS: Borja Iglesias, Joaquin, Paul Akouokou, Edgar Gonzalez, William Carvalho, Victor Camarasa, Jose Manuel Calderon, Rodrigo Sanchez, Claudio Bravo, Marc Bartra, Cristian Tello, Yassin Fekir.
REAL BETIS XI (4-2-3-1): Rui Silva; Juan Miranda, Victor Ruiz, German Pezzella, Martin Montoya; Andres Guardado, Guido Rodriguez; Nabil Fekir, Sergio Canales, Aitor Ruibal; Juanmi.
With 20 minutes to go before kick-off let’s take a look at how the two sides are lining up - starting with our hosts!
A confident 4-1 win for Real Madrid over Deportivo Alaves to start the season was met by a 3-3 draw with Levante last weekend, with Vinicius Junior’s late equaliser stealing a point for Los Blancos. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will look to make it three matches on the spin without defeat and jump into a tie for top spot in Spain ahead of Atletico Madrid’s match tomorrow.
Two 1-1 draws to start the season have Betis in 10th position as they welcome Real Madrid to the Estadio Benito Villamarin. The hosts have gone nine matches unbeaten at home in the league since a loss to Barcelona in February, though they were bested by today’s opponents last time they met in Seville, going down 3-2 thanks to a late Sergio Ramos penalty.
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Real Betis and Real Madrid!
