Sunday's La Liga predictions including Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona

Villarreal vs. Granada (Sunday, 1.00pm)

Villarreal will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time this season when they welcome relegation-threatened Granada to Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday afternoon.

The Yellow Submarine will enter the contest off the back of a 3-1 victory at Real Sociedad, while Granada drew 1-1 with basement side Almeria last time out.

We say: Villarreal 2-1 Granada

Granada are not losing matches at the moment, but their away form this season has been so disappointing, and Villarreal will enter this match full of confidence after an impressive win over Real Sociedad. It could be a tight match, but we are expecting the home side to navigate their way to all three points.

Atletico vs. Betis (Sunday, 3.15pm)

Atletico Madrid will be bidding to bounce back from their Copa del Rey disappointment when they welcome Real Betis to Wanda Metropolitano in La Liga on Sunday afternoon.

Diego Simeone's side are currently fourth in the La Liga table, 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis, with both teams battling to secure European action for the 2024-25 campaign.

We say: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Real Betis

Atletico's recent form is worrying, and their top-four position in the table is under threat from Athletic, demonstrating the importance of picking up a positive result here. Real Betis are capable of making it a tough afternoon for Atletico, but the visitors will be missing so many important players through injury, and we are therefore backing the hosts to edge out a much-needed three points.

Mallorca vs. Girona (Sunday, 5.30pm)

Title-challenging Girona will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga for the first time in over a month when they travel to Copa del Rey finalists Mallorca on Sunday evening.

Girona are currently second in the table, six points behind the leaders Real Madrid, while Mallorca occupy 16th position, six points ahead of the relegation zone.

We say: Mallorca 1-2 Girona

Mallorca will have been boosted by their penalty-shootout success over Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey, but Girona need to keep winning to stay in the title picture, and we believe that the Catalan side, who have been impressive on their travels this season, will edge a close match this weekend.

Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona (Sunday, 8.00pm)

Fresh from booking their spot in the final of the Copa del Rey with an impressive win over Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao will switch their attention back to La Liga on Sunday, welcoming the champions Barcelona to San Mames for what is shaping up to be a fascinating affair.

Athletic occupy fifth position in the La Liga table, three points behind fourth-placed Atletico in the battle for the Champions League spots, while Barcelona sit third, eight points ahead of their opponents here and also eight points behind division leaders Real Madrid.

We say: Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Barcelona

This has all of the makings of a fascinating match, with both sides having plenty to fight for in the league. Nico Williams is a huge miss for Athletic, who have a poor recent record against Barcelona in La Liga, but we are still expecting Valverde's side to be good enough for a point on Sunday night.

> How Barcelona could line up against Athletic Bilbao

> Barcelona injury, suspension list vs. Athletic Bilbao