Saturday's La Liga and Bundesliga predictions and free football tips

Best bets

Real Madrid to beat Atletico Madrid
ITV4, 5.30pm Saturday
2pts 4-5 general

Borussia Dortmund to beat Hoffenheim
2.30pm Saturday
2pts 4-5 bet365, Betfair, Hills

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Saturday preview

Real Madrid have had to settle for second-best in La Liga for most of the season, but they sent shockwaves across Europe on Tuesday night with a 5-2 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League, reminding everyone they should never be written off.

Los Blancos were 2-0 down after 14 minutes on Merseyside but exploded into life either side of the break with the returning Karim Benzema bagging a brace.

Real Madrid are a different beast with Benzema leading the line and they look a terrific bet to follow that mauling of Liverpool with a home win over rivals Atletico Madrid.

Carlo Ancelotti's men wobbled a little at the start of 2023, allowing Barcelona to establish a healthy advantage at the summit, but since winning the Club World Cup final earlier this month they have recorded back-to-back league wins to nil over Elche and Osasuna in La Liga.

David Alaba is likely to miss out but Nacho Fernandez is a capable deputy and Real Madrid look stronger in both boxes than Atletico, who lost to their city rivals in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals only last month.

Real Madrid are unbeaten at the Bernabeu in La Liga this season and can maintain that record with a win on Saturday.

Since its return, all the talk in the Bundesliga has been about the ascent of Union Berlin and Bayern Munich stuttering but Borussia Dortmund deserve praise for the way they have come back after the winter break.

The Black and Yellows have propelled themselves back into the Bundesliga title race, winning all six of their league fixtures in 2023, while they have also beaten Bochum in the German Cup and Chelsea in the Champions League.

And this weekend presents them with a golden opportunity to take the initiative at the top with Bayern Munich and Union Berlin locking horns on Sunday, meaning Dortmund could go top, for a few hours at least, if they avoid defeat against Hoffenheim.

While Dortmund have been a model of consistency under Edin Terzic since the restart, Hoffenheim have started the year with five defeats and one draw from their first six matches with Pellegrino Matarazzo still finding his feet as head coach.

The continued absences of Jacob Bruun Larsen and Robert Skov haven't helped matters, whereas Dortmund are benefiting from a new lease of life from midfielder Julian Brandt, who has six goal involvements in his last seven league games.

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