Saturday La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga predictions & free football tips

Best football bets and predictions for Saturday's matches in La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Best bets

Atletico Madrid to beat Rayo Vallecano
LaLigaTV, 8pm Saturday
1pt 21-20 Coral, Hills, Ladbrokes

Milan-Milan double result v Cagliari
BT Sport ESPN, 7.45pm Saturday
2pts 8-5Coral

Freiburg to beat Greuther Furth
2.30pm Saturday
3pts 8-11 bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

Saturday's European preview

Rayo Vallecano v Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid's resurgence continued with a Champions League win over Manchester United at Old Trafford this week and Diego Simeone's men should claim a sixth La Liga victory in seven games at Rayo Vallecano.

Atletico beat Rayo 2-0 on January 2 and their last two away trips in the league produced a 3-0 win at Osasuna and a 3-1 victory at highflying Real Betis.

Rayo are on the slide after a promising start to the campaign, taking just two points from nine games since the turn of the year and scoring just three goals during that lean run.

Cagliari v Milan

The three contenders in a fascinating Serie A title race are all in action on Saturday and leaders Milan look worth backing to avoid a slip-up away to Cagliari.

The Rossoneri's recent wins over Scudetto rivals Inter and Napoli have raised hopes of a first league triumph since 2010-11 and Stefano Pioli's side have developed a handy habit of scoring early goals.

They have notched in the 12th minute or earlier in seven of their last 11 league games against teams outside the top four and last weekend they beat Empoli 1-0 thanks to a 19th-minute goal from Pierre Kalulu.

They beat Cagliari 4-1 in August's reverse fixture, when all five goals came in the first half, and the struggling hosts are sliding towards the relegation zone. Lazio were 2-0 up at the break in a 3-0 win in Cagliari's last home fixture and Milan can also assert themselves early on.

Greuther Furth v Freiburg

Freiburg show no sign of running out of steam in the Bundesliga and they have the perfect opportunity to boost their Champions League qualification prospects with a trip to bottom club Greuther Furth.

Last weekend's 6-1 home defeat to RB Leipzig was an 18th defeat in 26 league games for Furth, who had taken a fourth-minute lead but still found themselves 4-1 down at half-time.

They have lost all eight of their games against top-six clubs, conceding 36 goals, and Freiburg kick off the weekend in fifth place, level on points with Leipzig and just one behind Bayer Leverkusen in third.

While Furth have been outclassed by the best clubs in the Bundesliga, Freiburg are ruthless against the weaker teams in the top flight, taking 32 points from a possible 36 against sides who started this round of fixtures in the bottom seven.

They showed their character in a 3-2 victory against Wolfsburg last weekend, losing a two-goal lead before scoring an 87th-minute winner, and things may well be more straightforward against faltering Furth.

Not got a bet365 account? Bet £10 & get £50 in free bets

Open account offer. Minimum deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as bet credits and are available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Minimum odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude bet credits stake. Time limits/T&Cs apply. 18+ begambleaware.org

MORE FREE BETS

Sign up to emails from Racing Post Sport and get all the latest news and tips

Today's top sports betting stories

Follow us on Twitter @racingpostsport