La Liga Tips: Back Modric in 10/3 bet builder on Bernabeu swansong | OneFootball

Real Madrid v Real Sociedad - Sat, 15:15

Luka Modric will play at the Santiago Bernabeu for the final time on Saturday, having announced earlier this week that he'll leave the club at the end of the current season. Of course, it goes without saying that Saturday's game will be a pretty big occasion, as the capital club prepares to say goodbye to one of its greatest ever players.

In a pretty underwhelming season by Real Madrid's standards, the feel-good story of their final league match of the season is a welcome one too. It'll turn what might have been one last chance for the home support to voice a bit of discontent into a day when the beloved Modric will take centre stage. And at this stage of the season - when you can never be quite sure of a team's motivation levels - that should be good news for Real Madrid on the urgency front.

With the masterful midfielder no doubt heading for a start in this game, you have to fancy him to try and bow out with one of his signature goals. He'd love to do it and the crowd - who will be encouraging him to shoot at regular intervals - would love it even more.

In the eight league starts Modric has made at the Bernabeu this season, he's attempted at least one shot in six of them, and two (or more) in four of them. In the most recent one against Mallorca, the 39-year-old fired in four attempts - his most in any game for the club this season.

Along with the Croatian to land a shot on target, I'll add in Real Sociedad to be shown more cards than the home side. The visitors are rarely lacking in intensity, and especially with this being Imanol Alguacil's final game in charge, they'll want to be as competitive as possible at the Bernabeu and honour their departing manager.

La Real rank fifth for fouls conceded (494) in La Liga this season, while their 85 yellow cards are significantly more than Real Madrid's league-low total of 58. And when these two met at the Bernabeu in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg back in April, the visitors were shown four yellow cards to just one for the home side.

Getafe v Celta Vigo - Sat, 20:00

European football is on the line for Celta Vigo on MD38, which makes them one of the teams circled in red that you'd expect to still be competing at their absolute best on the final day. And besides, winning away at Getafe usually demands that of you anyway. Celta will assume that.

Despite that, the fact is the home side don't have anything tangible left to play for - their survival is assured. The big debate around the club at present is whether it will be Jose Bordalas's final game in charge, with doubts over whether he'll continue and apparently friction building between him and the decision makers. If you're the away side, you'll thus be hoping there's an uneasy atmosphere in the ground come Saturday evening.

On the performance front, you'd certainly back Celta to be sharper and more certain in this one. Claudio Giraldez's side stand on the edge of a significant achievement, and they would be deserving of every bit. Celta are a team who regularly create more than they concede in matches, doing so in a way that really only the true elite teams in the country can do.

The Galician side's xG difference stands at +10.7 in La Liga this season (53.9 for, 43.2 against), a figure which is bettered by only the 'big three', Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao. Indeed, they're one of very few teams outside of the recognised dominant forces that can truly take charge of a game and control the flow of events. And even if we do get a typical Getafe display, I fancy their chances of doing so here, propelled by the allure of European qualification.

In doing so, I'll also throw in Borja Iglesias to score or assist in a Celta Vigo victory. The centre forward has been in superb form for his hometown club in recent months, silencing any doubters and showing he's an essential part of the team's attacking success. The 32-year-old has been directly involved in eight goals in his last 10 games in La Liga, scoring five goals and laying on three assists.

Giraldez loves to rotate and keep his players fresh, and having not started in their previous league game, expect Iglesias to get the nod for this defining game.

Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona - Sun, 20:00

Barcelona's 3-2 defeat against Villarreal wasn't all that surprising. Fresh off being confirmed as champions, the combination of inevitable 'stepping off the gas' and their ultra-aggressive style of play invited a shootout where it seemed like just about any result was possible.

Hansi Flick's side have been sensational this season, but if there's one thing we've learned about them and their style of play, it's that they need to be incredibly sharp and focused if they're to get it right. With their competitive spirit somewhat lowered, as well as new faces and partnerships coming in at this stage of the season, that becomes pretty difficult to sustain.

Granted, there's not a lot riding on this one for either team. Neither Barcelona nor Athletic are likely to move in the table on the final day, but particularly on home soil in front of their fans, Ernesto Valverde will still be preparing this one with his brightest ideas in mind. Namely, how Bilbao are to take advantage of the away side's high line and ultra-risky approach to defending.

With that in mind, it'd be a shock if Maroan Sannadi didn't get the nod to start up front for Athletic. The 24-year-old is still a relative newcomer to elite football, but he's shown in recent months that he's a player for the present and the future, who can already contribute in a significant way from the centre forward position.

Sannadi is a powerhouse who can both protect the ball with his back to goal, as well as run off defenders and drag centre backs into tricky situations. Against the inevitable Barcelona high press, he's just the man that they'll need to be able to play over the top and put the pressure onto those opposition defenders, while he averages 6.2 touches in the opposition box per 90 in La Liga (almost as many as Robert Lewandowski on 6.4).