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Sunday best bets: Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga tips for 22 March 2026

By James Eastham
Football
Fri March 20, 2026 · 3h ago

Football betting tips: Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga

19:45 – Fiorentina vs Inter

1pt Both Teams to Score at 4/5 (General)

19:45 – Nantes vs Strasbourg

1pt Johann Lepenant (Nantes) 1+ shot on target at 3/1 (Coral, Ladbrokes)

20:00 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

1pt Atletico Madrid to score 2+ goals at 6/4 (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair

Fiorentina vs Inter

The recent uptick in Fiorentina’s form is key as they take on Serie A leaders Inter.

La Viola are not yet clear of danger – they head into the weekend just two places and four points above the relegation zone – yet there are reasons for manager Paolo Vanoli and his players to be quietly confident they can trouble Inter.

Fiorentina are W6-D2-L2 from their last 10 matches in all competitions. Last time out in the Serie A Monday night fixture they won 4-1 at Cremonese. On Thursday, they won 2-1 at Poland’s Rakow in the Conference League last 16, completing a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Central to their improvement has been better attacking play. Fiorentina have scored 18 goals in their last 10 matches (90 minutes only), and at least once in 13 of their 17 games in all competitions in 2026.

They may not prevent Inter, clearly Italy's finest side, collecting all three points, but the chances of the hosts scoring, and contributing to an overall high goals count, are good.

Over 2.5 goals (widely available at 8/11) and the BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE market at 4/5 both deserve attention. Of the two, we prefer the bigger odds on the latter.

Nantes vs Strasbourg

New Nantes manager Vahid Halilhodzic takes charge for the first time this weekend. He is their third manager of the season and we do not know what to expect.

This is the 73-year-old's second spell in charge at the club. His first was in the 2018-19 season, an interlude in a nomadic career that has taken him to Algeria, Morocco, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Ivory Coast.

Until we see Nantes’ style of play under Halilhodzic we have no strong views on their broader chances of success. But a player to look out for is JOHANN LEPENANT.

The former France U21 midfielder is one of Nantes’ best players. He is most effective as a no.8 with licence to get forward. If he has impressed in training – as he normally does – he should start.

Nantes are second bottom of the table and the new boss’ brief is to move them away from relegation trouble. To do so, he will need to use his best players in their best positions.

With that in mind, the 3/1 on LEPENANT in the 1+ SHOTS ON TARGET market looks too big. Visitors Strasbourg will be fatigued by their Thursday night draw at home to Rijeka in the Conference League.

A front-foot Nantes performance seems likely. If named in the starting line-up, Lepenant’s chances of getting into scoring positions are stronger than the market believes.

Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid

A pressure-free Atletico Madrid can profit on Sunday night.

Out of the La Liga title race but with a Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona (Apr 8 and 14) and a Copa del Rey final with Real Sociedad (Apr 14) to prepare for, Diego Simeone’s players take on city rivals Real knowing that this is a dress rehearsal for bigger moments to come.

There may be some rotation from the visitors as they keep players fresh for those more important upcoming fixtures, but they have tremendous strength in depth in attack. Whoever lines-up for the Rojiblancos, they ought to trouble their hosts.

Atletico Madrid are W6-D0-L2 from their last eight matches in all competitions, but rather than backing the visitors in the 1X2 market we prefer to take advantage of their high-scoring nature.

Since the start of February, Atletico Madrid have scored two or more goals in eight of their 13 games in all competitions. The most recent example was their 3-2 midweek defeat at Tottenham, which followed their 5-2 win over the same opposition in the Champions League the week before.

Expect Atletico to create good scoring opportunities this weekend. They have netted 32 times in those 13 games since the start of February (average of 2.46 goals per game) and are well-equipped to take advantage of any moments where Real Madrid commit too many men forward.

Over 3.0 goals at evens is worth considering, but at bigger odds we'll take ATLETICO MADRID 2+ GOALS at 6/4.

Odds correct at 16:10 GMT (20/03/26)

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