Almeria vs. Real Madrid Betting Tips: Karim Benzema can fire Los Blancos to winning start

Real Madrid begin the defence of their La Liga crown with a trip to 2021/22 Segunda División champions Almeria on Sunday at 9pm (BST). Los Blancos cruised to league glory last season, finishing 13 points clear of a distant Barcelona, and have been installed as the narrow favourites to go on and make it back-to-back triumphs for the first time since 2006/07 and 2007/08.

Below we take a closer look at their opening game this weekend and pick out a couple of bets…

We’ve already had a sneak-peak of Real Madrid in action this season following Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup, which they won for a record-equalling fifth time.

Carlo Ancelotti has bolstered his squad through the additions of Aurelien Tchouameni and Antonio Rudiger, both of whom could feature at some point this weekend. Real aren’t accustomed to losing in the opening set of fixtures - not since 2008/09 have they been defeated - and are unsurprisingly odds-on at 2/5 to to enjoy a winning start.

Almeria are back in the big time for the first time since 2014/15 after they secured the second-tier title on head-to-head points over Valladolid. When it comes to an introduction back to La Liga matches don’t come much bigger than Real Madrid, with Rubi’s hosts 13/2 to claim a huge scalp on Sunday night.

An obvious choice, perhaps, but Karim Benzema to score in a Real Madrid win has become a recurring theme, particularly in recent seasons.

The Frenchman had the campaign of his life in 2021/22, netting 44 times in 46 games, 25 of which came in wins for his side. In the process he helped Real win the league and Champions League double, finishing top of the goalscoring charts in each.

"Benzema is very important, our leader," his manager Carlo Ancelotti said this week. "We are here mostly because of him - he scored many important goals. There are no doubts about who should win the Ballon d'Or, it should be Karim. For us he's the most important and most effective player in the world."

This season Benzema has already fired in a goal in Real’s 2-0 win against Frankfurt, which not only propelled his club tally to 324 goals but took him above the iconic Raul - only Cristiano Ronaldo has more for Madrid, with a surely uncatchable 450 goals…

He definitely looks just the ticket at a best-priced evens with Paddy Power to get his name on the scoresheet yet again in a Real win on Sunday night.

Now for something a little spicier in the form of a 10.36/1 bet builder with Paddy Power.

We've already highlighted Karim Benzema's stunning capacity for goals, and as stated, we're full backing him to open his 2022/23 La Liga account this weekend (8/11). 

Next up, we're adding an assist from Vinicius Junior into the mix (11/4). Vinicius enjoyed a superb 2021/22 season - scoring 22 goals and assisting 20 - which he capped off by netting the winner in the Champions League final. Like Benzema, the Brazilian has already sparkled this term, setting up his fellow forward during the 2-0 win over Frankfurt. 

Thirdly, Almeria can be backed at 10/11 to receive the most cards in a game they'll be expected to be on the backfoot, with the aforementioned Benzema and Vinicius likely to pose the home defence all sorts of problems with their skill and movement.

This subsequently boosts the Bet Builder up to double figures at 10/1.