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Remind me next time

Since returning from the Winter break, La Liga has been nothing but entertaining. Our tipster, Jonathon Hague, take his pick of the weekend's action in the Iberian Peninsula.

Getafe v Athletic Bilbao

(Fri, 20:00)

Athletic Bilbao to win @ 9/5 - BET NOW

Athletic Bilbao have picked themselves up after a disastrous run between mid-September to mid-November where their only one win came at home to Sevilla. However, since their 1-1 draw with Villarreal back in November, Los Leones remain undefeated, picking apart the midtable teams comfortably and finally climbing back up the table.

Getafe are having a strong season on return to the top flight, steadily going about their business and avoiding the relegation battle they inevitably believed they would be sucked into. However, in recent weeks, El Geta have been struggling for fire power in front of goal which, if continues, could see them punished by some of the more attacking teams in the division. The first fixture was a tight affair back in August, with the game finishing 0-0 but I feel Athletic will be too strong in their current form for Getafe and I predict an away win. With Adruiz up top, you can never discount the Basques.

Espanyol v Sevilla

(Sat, 12:15)

Espanyol to win @ 15/8 – BET NOW

Espanyol and Sevilla might be at opposite ends of the table but this game could go either way. Since their 5-0 thrashing by Real Madrid, Sevilla haven't won a single game in the league with losses to strugglers Alavés and Real Sociedad. Their poor displays on the pitch came to a head with the 3-5 embarrassment in the Seville derby to local rivals, Real Betis. A mid-week victory against Atlético in the Copa Del Rey should lift spirits in the camp but new manager Vincenzo Montella needs to regain the Andulicians' fear factor that made them one of the best sides in Europe over the past few seasons. His record at AC Milan recently doesn't fill me with hope that he is the man to do this.

Espanyol spent Wednesday evening celebrating a historic win against local rivals, Barcelona, in the Copa Del Rey and have won four out of their last six games. Les Blanquiazules have a strong home record and don’t concede many goals, which is why I reckon Quique Sanchez Flores’ men will scrape a win against an inconsistent Sevilla side on Saturday.

Las Palmas v Valencia

(Sat, 19:45)

Valencia to win and both teams to score @ 21/10 – BET NOW

Cult figure, Paco Jémez’s tenure at struggling Las Palmas is giving us a lot of goals as you would expect... you'd just normally expect his team to bang a few in too. Last week, they were pulled apart by La Liga newbies Girona 6-0, which lead to him calling his team ‘jodidos' - I’ll let you use Google Translate on that one. Just five days earlier, they were picked apart by this weekend’s opponents at the Mestalla, 4-0 in the Copa del Rey.

Valencia look back to their best this season, currently sitting third in the table and will be boosted by the return of top goal scorer, Simone Zaza. I expect plenty of goals, Valencia to cruise to an easy win and Paco Jémez to forgo defensive training as normal. Never change, Paco.

Real Madrid v Deportivo La Coruña

(Sun, 15,15)

Real Madrid -2 to win @ 10/11 – BET NOW

Crisis has hit Real Madrid as they sit 16 points off the pace at the top with Sevilla and Villarreal breathing down their necks for the final Champions League spot, something that Toni Kroos has acknowledged in the press. It’s fair to say that the European Champions haven’t been their usual clinical selves this season as Ballon D’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has only netted four league goals this season.

Luckily for them, Depor arrive at the Bernabeu sitting 18th and in a terrible run of form. Super Depor this isn’t, and the odds are looking like they could be heading to La Segunda again. Unable to get their star man, Lucas Perez, into any kind of goal scoring form the Galicians are sliding down the table. With Malaga in 19th hiring a new manager and tough games against Levante and Real Sociedad looming, Deportivo need to get their act together and hope for a scrappy win or at least a draw from this game to build some kind of momentum.

Zidane’s job has come into the question and he will not expect anything less than a traditional Real Madrid trouncing. I’m backing Ronnie and co to pull out all the stops for this one, which is why I’m backing them to win with a -2 handicap.

Real Betis v Barcelona

(Sun 19,45)

Barcelona to win and both teams to score @ 13/10 – BET NOW

Barcelona go into Sunday’s clash in Andalucía on the back of their first loss of the season at the hands of local rivals, Espanyol, in the Copa Del Rey Quarter Finals. Despite a misfiring Messi, who missed another penalty for the Blaugrana on Wednesday evening, I don’t expect this to effect their league form. Last week, they were able to overcome the Anoeta curse, a place they haven’t won at since 2007. If they can finally beat Real Sociedad away, even after going 2-0 down, then they can overcome anything.

History shows that both teams like to hit the onion bag in this fixture so expect at least a goal apiece, but also expect a dominant display by the Catalans.

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