Sunday's La Liga and Ligue 1 predictions & free football tips

Best bets, predictions and analysis for Sunday's La Liga and Ligue 1 action.

Best bets

Atletico Madrid Sunday 8pm
1pt 10-11 Betfair, Betfred, Hills

Lille Sunday 8pm
1pt 12-5 general

Atletico can take initiative at the top

The domestic resurgence of Real Madrid and Barcelona since the turn of the year makes it easy to forget Atletico Madrid are in fact the primary protagonists in the La Liga title race this season and they can emphasise that against Athletic Bilbao.

In a tumultuous week for Spain's elite football clubs, Atletico held their nerve on the pitch to win 2-0 against Huesca last time out, having destroyed Eibar 5-0 at the weekend.

Diego Simeone's men are starting to show the kind of form which got them to the summit in the first place and have lost only one of their last nine league matches.

There is still a long way to go if they are to lift the trophy but they should have enough in their locker to overcome a Bilbao side who have forgotten where the net is.

The Basque outfit have drawn blanks in each of their last three contests - including a 4-0 hammering by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final - and could struggle to find a way past an Atleti rearguard who have shipped only 20 league goals all campaign.

Lille's title challenge set for huge boost

Among the headline fixtures across Europe this weekend, this match sees Lille put their title credentials on the line against contenders Lyon.

Christophe Galtier's men have exceeded expectations by merely being involved in the title race but heading into this weekend's set of matches, they hold a one-point lead over reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain and will be determined to put their foot on the gas.

Now they are out of the French Cup and European competitions, they can focus solely on their league title pursuit and could have a physical edge over Lyon, who were involved in an energy-sapping cup quarter-final with Monaco on Wednesday, losing 2-0.

Lille have shown they can rise to the big occasion when beating PSG this month as well as when they got the better of Monaco and, in Europe, Milan.

No Ligue 1 outfit have collected more points on their travels than Lille (37) this term and, having won 11 of their 16 matches on the road, they can prevail at the Groupama Stadium.

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