Arsenal vs Betis Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

Arsenal and Real Betis meet for the first time in history on Thursday morning New Zealand time at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, with the Premier League champions continuing their pre-season preparations.

Arteta’s side are still without a swathe of World Cup regulars, but their 4-1 demolition of Girona on Saturday was an encouraging start. Betis, fresh off qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years, won’t be easy opponents.

In this Arsenal vs Real Betis preview, I’ve been looking at the goals markets, and for those checking the best betting apps for pre-season value, I’ve got a combined bet north of $3.00 that I like.

Arsenal

Arsenal won their first league title in 22 years off the back of a relentless campaign - 26 wins from 38 with the fewest goals conceded in Europe’s top five leagues. I’ve seen them come close too many times, so the fact it finally happened hasn’t fully registered. They also made it to the Champions League final, where they drew 1-1 with PSG in Budapest before losing 4-3 on penalties.

But pre-season is a different story. 

Arteta fielded a youthful squad against Girona and won 4-1, though the scoreline flattered the early performance. Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Piero Hincapie came off after half an hour. Christos Tzolis looked sharp on debut, and 16-year-old Max Dowman starred with a goal and an assist.

Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, David Raya and Martin Zubimendi haven’t returned to training yet. That’s a huge chunk of their first-choice spine still on extended leave.

Team News: Saliba is out with a back injury. Timber left camp with a groin problem. White has returned to full training. Gabriel and Martinelli trained but weren’t involved against Girona.

Predicted Lineup: Meslier; White, Kiwior, Hincapie, Calafiori; Merino, Nørgaard; Nwaneri, Havertz, Tzolis; Gyokeres.

Real Betis

Betis qualified for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years after finishing fifth in La Liga under Manuel Pellegrini. An exceptional season - 15 wins, 15 draws and just eight losses with 59 goals scored - and it followed a Conference League final appearance the year before.

Their pre-season has been low-key so far - clean wins over Sportfreunde Lotte (3-0) and Recreativo Huelva (1-0). Cucho Hernandez, their top scorer last season with 11 La Liga goals after arriving from Columbus Crew, will be the one to watch. Antony contributed eight goals and six assists in La Liga last season.

Hector Bellerin faces his former club for the first time after spending over a decade at Arsenal.

Team News: No major injury concerns reported. Pellegrini will rotate across both halves, with Betis hosting Bournemouth three days later in Seville.

Predicted Lineup: Valles; Bellerin, Llorente, Natan, Firpo; Amrabat, Cardoso; Antony, Lo Celso, Ezzalzouli; Cucho Hernandez.

• This is the first competitive or friendly meeting between Arsenal and Real Betis.
• Betis have conceded zero goals across two pre-season fixtures so far.
• Arsenal scored 14 goals across four pre-season games in 2025.
• Over 2.5 goals came in during Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Girona on Saturday.
• Betis finished fifth in La Liga last season with 59 goals scored in 38 games.

I’m tipping Arsenal to win this one. Expect it to be closer than the Girona result though. Betis are a serious La Liga outfit preparing for Champions League football next season - they won’t fold the way a relegated Girona side did.

Arsenal still have incredible depth even without their World Cup contingent. Gyokeres and Havertz will probably get another 30 to 45 minutes, and the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Dowman have enough about them to cause problems. Arteta will want a positive result in front of what should be a packed Dublin crowd.

I can see Betis scoring through Cucho Hernandez or Antony - both are too good to be kept quiet for 90 minutes, even in a pre-season fixture. A 2-1 Arsenal win is what I’m going with. For those tracking odds and planning to bet on football this week, this friendly is worth monitoring.

Arsenal Win and Both Teams to Score @ $3.40

Arsenal have too much quality to lose this, even with a rotated squad. Four different players scored against Girona, and I expect the goals to flow from multiple sources again here.

But Betis won’t be passive. Cucho Hernandez scored 15 goals in all competitions last season, and Antony is too dangerous to contain for a full 90 minutes. Over 2.5 goals came in during three of Arsenal’s four pre-season friendlies last year, and BTTS has been a regular outcome when Premier League sides face La Liga opposition in summer fixtures.

At $3.40, the combination of an Arsenal victory and goals at both ends offers solid value for anyone looking at the free bets available this pre-season.