Football Bet of the Day: Rampant Raphinha to strike again | OneFootball

Bet of the Day

Raphinha is having a phenomenal season for Barcelona

We're looking to extend the streak of winners to four tonight, and Kevin Hatchard has a bet from the Copa del Rey final.

Brilliant Brazilian Igor Paixao kept our winning run going last night, as he nailed a 6/4 winner by scoring in Feyenoord's 4-0 victory against PEC Zwolle. Lovely stuff.

We'll switch our attention to one of the most fascinating games of the season now, because Barcelona are facing old foes Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, a one-off showdown in Seville. Barca have already swept Madrid aside twice this term, beating them 4-0 at the Bernabeu in the league and 5-2 in the final of the Spanish Super Cup.

Barca have the upper hand in the La Liga title race, as they are four points clear with five games remaining. The Catalan giants are also still in the Champions League, while Real Madrid were on the wrong end of a comprehensive quarter-final defeat against Arsenal.

Falling so far behind Barcelona this term isn't acceptable for Madrid, and it seems clear that hugely successful coach Carlo Ancelotti is running out of road. The affable Italian is likely to be jettisoned before the Club World Cup, and Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso could be his replacement. Sitting in Xabi Alonso's in-tray will be a piece of paper that says "rebuild the defence" and another that says "find a way to replace Toni Kroos."

Ironically, Xabi Alonso as a player is exactly what this top-heavy Real Madrid team needs. Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo are a fabulous front four in many respects, but as PSG found out in their Mbappe/Neymar/Messi era, building a superteam requires balance and compromise.

Barcelona have been phenomenal under German tactician Hansi Flick, and it could prove to be one of the best seasons in the club's history. One of the driving forces behind the success has been the searing form of Raphinha, with the Brazilian delivering a staggering 34 goals in 55 games for club and country this season.

On that basis alone I was staggered to see the former Leeds star trading at 3.05 to score in this final. He scored twice in the Super Cup final against Madrid, and netted in a 4-0 win at the Bernabeu. He has scored seven goals in his last 12 games for Barca and Brazil, including a double in the recent 4-3 victory against Celta Vigo.