La Liga Tips: Sevilla will keep pace in title race

La Liga Tips: Sevilla will keep pace in title race

Fourth placed Sevilla rarely concede at home and Dan Fitch is backing them to beat Granada to nil, as he previews the weekend La Liga action.

Barca will sink Yellow Submarine

Villarreal 4.7 v Barcelona 1.71; The Draw 4.5
Sunday 25 April, 15:15
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Three of the four La Liga title contenders are in action on Sunday and it's Barcelona up first, when they travel for a tricky fixture at Villarreal.

All of the top four won in midweek, with Barcelona running out as 5-2 winners against Getafe. Lionel Messi scored two of the goals and after his memorable brace in the 4-0 Copa del Rey final win against Athletic Bilbao last weekend, it looks like the little Argentine is hitting peak form at the right moment.

Having lost El Clasico, Ronald Koeman will be encouraged by the way his side have bounced back. With a game in hand to play against Granada in midweek, Barca can put themselves ahead of Real Madrid and perhaps even the leaders Atletico, within the next few days.

First they must beat seventh placed Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine lost 2-1 to Alaves in midweek and Barcelona represent relatively good value to win at 1.71.

Sevilla rarely concede at home

Sevilla 1.44 v Granada 8.0; The Draw 5.0
Sunday 25 April, 17:30
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

This title fight became a three-horse race over recent months and now a fourth contender has joined the pack.

Sevilla are only six points behind Atletico Madrid, having produced a seven match unbeaten run in La Liga (W6 D1), to put themselves in the mix. They've now won each of their last four, which includes a 1-0 home win over Atletico.

Their form has radically improved since their exited the Copa del Rey and Champions League. That's perhaps not surprising, considering that there was very little gap between Sevilla winning last season's Europa League and then starting a new campaign. At a time when the club were not considered quite 'super' enough to be invited to the failed breakaway attempt, Sevilla can be pleased to have kept pace with the top three, during a physically challenging season.

Eighth placed Granada are not easy opponents, but Sevilla should have enough to keep the pressure on their rivals. Sevilla have won seven of their last nine league games at home without conceding and you can back them to win to nil at 2.3.

Atletico will win narrowly

Athletic Bilbao 4.6 v Atletico Madrid 1.97; The Draw 3.5
Sunday 25 April, 15:15
Live on LaLigaTV and Betfair Live Video

Atletico Madrid have restored some confidence over the last week and must now hold their nerve when they visit Athletic Bilbao.

After only taking a point from their games against Sevilla and Real Betis at the start of April, Atletico bounced back this week with wins over first Eibar and then Huesca. Though not in the best of form, Bilbao promise to be much tougher opposition.

Athletic are without a win in eight (D5 L3), but that includes useful away draws against Real Sociedad and Betis. Their winless run kicked off with a 2-1 defeat to Atletico in the reverse fixture, in which the La Liga leaders had to come from behind to win.

With this being a difficult game for Atletico, it's perhaps worth taking looking for a big price if backing them for a win. For both Bilbao and Atletico, six of their last seven games have seen less than three goals scored and you can back an away win and under 2.5 goals at 3.6.