Bundesliga, La Liga & Ligue 1 predictions & free football tips from Liam Flin

Best bets and predictions for the weekend's matches in the Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1.

Best bets

Freiburg draw no bet 2.30pm Saturday
1pt 4-5 Hills

Atletico Madrid 8pm Saturday
2pts 10-11 general

Lyon 7.45pm Sunday
3pts 3-4 general

Hertha Berlin v Freiburg

Capital club Hertha Berlin were showing signs of a revival in the Bundesliga with wins over promoted duo Bochum and Greuther Furth last month but were given a reality check in a 6-0 thrashing by Leipzig last time out.

They allowed their opponents ten shots on target on that occasion, crumbling against Jesse Marsch's men who themselves have not looked strong this campaign.

That result means Hertha have lost four of their opening six games in the new Bundesliga campaign and they are worth taking on when they host Freiburg on Saturday.

Aside from Jonathan Schmid being short of fitness, the visitors have no injury concerns and are one of only two sides - along with Bayern Munich - unbeaten in the league after six games.

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona

To put it bluntly, Barcelona are in a state of disarray.

The summer departure of six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has hit the Catalan giants even harder than expected and their struggles could be emphasised when they visit Atletico Madrid this weekend.

Barca remain unbeaten in La Liga this season but stalemates with Granada and Cadiz are hardly signs of a team on the up, while they have lost their opening two Champions League group stage matches for the first time in their history.

And both of those defeats were comprehensive 3-0 reverses coming against Bayern Munich and Benfica.

Ronald Koeman's days in the Camp Nou dugout look numbered and it is hard to see past a win for Atletico, who have four wins from seven La Liga contests and should be full of confidence after their Champions League comeback victory over Milan.

St-Etienne v Lyon

The Derby Rhone-Alpes is traditionally one of the most fiercely contested rival matches in France but in recent years the gulf in class between St-Etienne and Lyon has grown and grown.

And after winning both meetings comfortably last term, Lyon should once again get the better of their Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes counterparts.

St-Etienne are rock bottom of the Ligue 1 standings with three draws and five defeats from their eight assignments, having conceded an average of just over two goals per game.

And although Lyon are perhaps not where they want to be in Ligue 1 this term - they have three wins, three draws and two defeats to their name - they have enough in their locker to prevail.

Moussa Dembele remains sidelined but Karl Toko Ekambi is doing a decent job in the final third, having steered them to a 3-0 win over Brondby in the Europa League last time out. They look one of the best bets of the weekend to win this one.

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