Sachin Tendulkar, Brendan Taylor

Zimbabwe veteran Brendan Taylor has gone past Sachin Tendulkar to become the longest-serving player in men’s ODI history after taking the field in the first ODI against Australia in Harare on Tuesday.Taylor’s ODI career now spans 22 years and four months, moving him ahead of Tendulkar, whose ODI career lasted 22 years and three months before he retired from the format in 2012.Tendulkar, however, still holds the record for the most ODI runs with 18,426 and the most appearances in the format with 463 matches.Taylor, 40, made his ODI debut in 2004 and has gone on to become one of Zimbabwe’s leading batters. Going into Tuesday’s match, he had scored a national-record 11 ODI centuries in 207 matches.Taylor retired from international cricket in 2021, but in 2022 he was handed a three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Anti-Doping codes.After completing his suspension, he came out of retirement in 2025 as Zimbabwe began preparing to co-host the 2027 ODI World Cup with South Africa and Namibia.Meanwhile, Australia won the toss on Tuesday and decided to bat in their first one-day cricket international in Zimbabwe in 12 years.Australian captain Mitchell Marsh is one of the three survivors in both teams to have played in the last ODI in Zimbabwe which the host team won. Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza and Brendan Taylor are the other two players, who did compete in that famous Zimbabwe victory in 2014.Lineups:Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Travis Head, Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Matt Renshaw, Ollie Peake, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza (captain), Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani.FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES

High-flying Real Betis welcome Getafe to the Benito Villamarín Stadium in a Spanish La Liga match on Thursday. Real Betis have a slight historical edge in this fixture.

Real Betis have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and sit third in the La Liga standings, with four wins out of five in the Spanish top flight.

Aside from a 5-2 away loss to Levante on matchday three, Los Verdiblancos have been supremely efficient and defensively solid, with 1-0 victories over giants Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at home, as well as Valencia away.

In their most recent La Liga matchup, Manuel Pellegrini’s men travelled to face Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica on Monday, securing a come-from-behind 2-1 victory.

Gerard Moreno put the hosts ahead in the 29th minute, but Real Betis fought back as Cucho Hernandez and Natan netted before the halftime break to earn another impressive three points.

Meanwhile, Getafe are in 14th place in the La Liga table with five points from five games, tied on the same points as Levante, who are above Azulones on goal difference.

Getafe kicked off their league campaign with a 3-0 loss away to Alaves before earning their only win so far against newly-promoted Racing Santander at home.

A 1-0 loss away to Osasuna was followed by a pair of 1-1 home draws against Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña.

José Bordalás’ side looked set for the win after they took the lead through Ramon Terrats in the 66th minute, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized late in the match at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Sunday.

Real Betis vs Getafe head-to-head stats and key numbers

• Real Betis have the slight upper hand in the head-to-head record against Getafe, with 17 wins out of 42 matches, along with 12 draws.
• Getafe have beaten Real Betis on 13 occasions, including their most recent clash in La Liga last season, when they secured a 2-0 victory at home.
• Despite that recent loss, Real Betis have dominated the fixture in the last five years, having lost to Getafe only twice in their last 11 matches.

Real Betis vs Getafe prediction

Real Betis are expected to dominate possession and dictate the tempo at home, using their creative midfielders and wide players to transition at speed and break down Getafe’s defense. Getafe will likely adopt a compact, low defensive block designed to disrupt Real Betis’ rhythm, before launching counterattacks and aiming to make the most of set-piece opportunities.

Real Betis have become masters of edging narrow victories, and we expect this encounter to end similarly in the home side’s favor.

Prediction: Real Betis 1-0 Getafe

Real Betis vs Getafe betting tips

Tip 1: Real Betis to win

Tip 2: Real Betis to keep a clean sheet

Tip 3: Under 2.5 goals