Saturday's La Liga, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga predictions and free football tips

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

Best bets

Athletic Bilbao draw no bet v Atletico Madrid
LaLigaTV, 8pm Saturday
1pt 8-11 BoyleSports, Hills

Over 2.5 goals in Lorient v Reims
4pm Saturday
1pt 20-23 Betfair

Bayer Leverkusen draw no bet v Eintracht Frankfurt
2.30pm Saturday
1pt 4-5 Hills

Saturday preview

It has been a challenging week for Atletico Madrid, who limped to a 0-0 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday and are at risk of missing out on the knockout stage.

Diego Simeone's men could not find a way past Simon Mignolet and there were also issues off the field with Joao Felix having been left on the bench, prompting rumours about his future.

And it does not get any easier for Atleti, who travel to the Basque Country to face red-hot Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Although last week's 1-1 draw with Sevilla was not ideal, Athletic Bilbao have been superb in La Liga this term, chalking up five wins from eight games, and a victory over Simeone's side would mark them out as contenders for a Champions League berth this term.

Nico and Inaki Williams have been linking up brilliantly and Ernesto Valverde's side can take confidence from the fact they won the corresponding fixture with Atletico Madrid 2-0 last season.

Lorient are flying in Ligue 1, winning eight of their ten fixtures in France's top flight, but it is fair to say they have looked a top-heavy side this term.

At the attacking end of the pitch, they have been superb, bundling in more than two goals per game with striker Terem Moffi contributing eight in the league - as many as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

Defensively, though, there are concerns. They have shipped 14 times in ten games and since early September they have failed to keep clean sheets against Lyon, Nantes, Auxerre, Lille and Brest.

Their next opponents Reims hardly strike fear into defences but won the shout count 24-11 in their 0-0 draw with Paris Saint-Germain last time out and they could contribute to a high-scoring game.

Xabi Alonso suffered an early setback in his managerial tenure with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, losing 3-0 to Porto, but his side can bounce back against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Alonso could not have asked for a better first game in charge of Leverkusen, overseeing a 4-0 thrashing of Schalke last weekend and he looks like the right man to take them forwards.

The Porto defeat was concerning but two of the goals conceded were from the spot and Leverkusen outplayed their Primeira Liga opponents for most of the game.

There is plenty of potential to unlock in that Leverkusen team - they finished third in the Bundesliga only last season - and they will be determined to start putting together a winning streak.

Frankfurt have blown hot and cold this season - last weekend's 3-0 defeat to Bochum was a serious low point - and they could be worth opposing after a tricky midweek trip to Tottenham.

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