La Liga Tips: Lamine Yamal to star for Barcelona in Atletico showdown | OneFootball

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Villarreal v Real Madrid - Sat, 17:30

Even if the rewards have been lucrative for some, it's been a hard week for the Spanish sides involved in European competition. Madrid derbies, trips to Old Trafford, monumental efforts on Thursday nights... and then you have to be ready to compete again in La Liga a few days later.

That's very much the case for Real Madrid here, who rapidly have to switch their focus back to a thrilling title race, where the margins are becoming increasingly fine. And on top of that, their games against Villarreal have rarely been a walk in the park in recent La Liga history.

This exact fixture last season ended in a miraculous 4-4 draw, with Alexander Sorloth netting four times for the home side to help them from being 4-1 down at half time. Marcelino's team produced a rampant response to earn themselves a point, racking up 17 shots from inside the box (along with 45 touches in the box) in the process.

It was also in this fixture last term that Ancelotti rested a number of his key players, and duly suffered the consequences for it with their second half display. It seems likely that Real Madrid will have to follow a similar pattern here, with their ultra-passionate tie with Atletico Madrid only just being out of mind (and a number of players already not at 100%, like Kylian Mbappe).

Going back across the last seven meetings between Villarreal and Real Madrid in La Liga, both sides have won as many games as they've lost (two - along with three draws) - all of which have been since Carlo Ancelotti returned to the capital club.

With the reigning champions inevitably worn by their game against Atletico Madrid, and potentially being without Kylian Mbappe for this one, I'll try my luck again with opting against a Real Madrid victory. Rayo Vallecano were unlucky not to take anything at the Bernabeu last weekend, and Villarreal on home soil should fancy themselves to earn a result too.

Rayo Vallecano v Real Sociedad - Sun, 17:30

It's a quick turnaround for Real Sociedad following their trip to Old Trafford on Thursday, and Vallecas is not a place you want to go if your squad is feeling the effects of fatigue.

Rayo Vallecano may be one of the more modest sides in La Liga, working on limited resources, but they're also rapidly becoming one of the most competitive in the division (outside of the usual names).

They pushed Real Madrid all the way in a narrow 2-1 defeat last weekend, recording twice as many shots (20 to 10) as the home side at the Bernabeu. And across their last 13 league matches (W5 D5 L3), two of their only three defeats have been against Real Madrid and Barcelona; the other was against Villarreal, in a game they were also unlucky to come out on the wrong side of.

On home soil at Vallecas, their performances have been consistently good under this term. Rayo's xG difference on home soil stands at +8.9, which is the sixth best in La Liga this season, and behind only five teams who are all involved in European competition.

For Real Sociedad, meanwhile, it's been a struggle on the road of late. They've lost each of their last five away games in La Liga; their longest losing run since October 2012 (5). And the aggregate scoreline across those five matches stands at 12-1.

Between their weakening levels of competitiveness and the fact they've had to play in Europe on Thursday, you simply have to fancy Rayo to cash in here.

Atletico Madrid v Barcelona - Sun, 20:00

After defeat to Getafe last weekend, followed by an incredibly painful Champions League exit to Real Madrid in the midweek, the stakes are high for Atletico Madrid on Sunday night. Lose to Barcelona and they very likely will say goodbye to their chances of winning a title this term, following up their European exit earlier in the week.

Indeed, Barcelona will have no sympathy for them either. Hansi Flick's side play to win and attack every single game - it's not just something they say. There'll be no trip to Madrid thinking they'll be happy to leave with a point and make sure they don't give up three, with a view to keeping Atletico on the outside of the title race.

With the frustration of their shootout defeat to Real Madrid fresh in their mind, we should expect a rebellious Atletico to come out on this game. Diego Simeone's show on the pitch at full time - pleading with supporters to honour their team, and rallying around his players to get their heads up immediately - said it all. Atletico may be fatigued from a monumental effort on Wednesday, but they'll be ready to fight until the end again this weekend.

Between a vengeful Atletico, who are potentially staring down the crumbling of their season, along with a Barcelona side who will go to the Metropolitano to score goals as they always do, there's every chance we could get a heavyweight shootout on Sunday evening.

These teams drew 4-4 in a Copa del Rey fixture at the end of February, and Barcelona have scored and conceded in 11 of their last 15 away games in La Liga. Not to mention that Atletico almost always score in home league matches (failing in just two of their last 44).

Along with both teams to score, I'll add in Lamine Yamal to score or assist anytime. With this being the last game before the international break, Hansi Flick can afford to keep him in the XI and not be too concerned about his condition - and when he's in this form, it's hard to leave him out anyway. Yamal has been directly involved in 14 goals in his last 20 games for Barcelona (six goals, eight assists), including two against Benfica in midweek.