Recommended bets: LaLiga
1pt Real Madrid to win from behind at 8/1 - leaky defence has forced them to come from behind in three of their last four victories
3pts Atletico Madrid to win to nil at 15/8 - Simeone's men are back to their stringent best as they host a struggling Sevilla side
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Athletic Bilbao v Real Madrid (Saturday, 1515 GMT)
Real Madrid might have been handed a tough assignement in the Champions League quarter-finals by drawing Bayern Munich, but they’ll be aware that this weekend's trip will be one of their biggest tests this season.
Athletic are unbeaten at the San Mames since Barcelona left with a 1-0 triumph on the second weekend of the season, with the hosts winning 10 and drawing three since then.
A 2-0 recent win at Basque rivals Real Sociedad also means they’ll be full of confidence, while European qualification is back within their sights.
Zinedine Zidane’s men, meanwhile, have shown few signs of ending their wobble, having had to come from behind in three of their last four wins, while they’ve also dropped points against Valencia and Las Palmas in their last six.
Their defence is undoubtedly the greatest concern, having conceded 10 goals in that run, while they’ve recorded just seven clean sheets all season.
All eyes will be on keeper Keylor Navas after his howler last time out and it would be no surprise to see the double-figure-scoring defender Sergio Ramos needing to bail his side out again, despite the return of Gareth Bale.
Ramos typifies the resilience of this remarkable side, who simply do not know when they are beaten, so backing a fifth win from behind in nine games looks the way to go.
Prediction: Real to win from behind
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla (Sunday, 1515 GMT, Sky Sports 2)
Having looked genuine title challengers for the for the vast majority of the season, Sevilla head to the Vicente Calderon in tatters.
Jorge Sampaoli’s men slipped out of the title race with back-to-back draws against Alaves and Leganes before crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Leicester, leaving them now focused on securing automatic qualification for next season’s edition.
Having safely booked their own quarter-final place, fourth-placed Atletico head into the clash five points behind their visitors and have regained their defensive steel with Jan Oblak back between the sticks, recording three successive clean sheets.
Their only two home defeats this season have come at the hands of Real Madrid and Barcelona, while they’ll take further confidence from Sevilla’s modest tally of just three goals from their last four outings.
Prediction: Atletico to win to nil
Posted at 1745 GMT on 17/03/17.
