AEK remained top of the table after securing a professional 1-0 win away at Volos on Sunday. Matias Almeyda’s side are gradually building momentum, as they have secured two straight 1-0 victories over PAOK and Volos after dropping points at home against Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.

AEK average 2.1 goals scored at home this season, while no top-six team have conceded more goals than Aris (17 in 14 games) away from home. In fact, Aris have lost eight of their 14 games on the road. They did surprise Olympiacos by coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 away at the Karaiskakis Stadium, but they had previously lost all their five games against Big-4 teams (Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK) away from home.

Sitting top of the table, level on points with Panathinaikos and three points ahead of Olympiacos, AEK are aware that a comfortable win will send a message to and pile the pressure on the other two title contenders, who face each other later on Sunday.

Red Bull Salzburg’s stellar league campaign goes on with the league leaders now 22 games unbeaten, having dropped only 11 points all season, and are three points clear of an excellent Sturm side at the top. It is an impressive record given the general consensus that this Salzburg squad perhaps lacks the stand-out names of seasons gone by.

With financial problems looming large and popular coach Manfred Schmid departing over the winter break, it has been another season where off-pitch issues have carried greater weight than the Austria Vienna fans would have liked. On the pitch, their form has certainly been inconsistent with four wins, one draw and three defeats in their last eight matches, leaving Michael Wimmer’s team in fourth spot. The stalemate came in their last outing, when they took a two-goal lead against LASK only to be pegged back late on and held to a 2-2 draw.

Salzburg have not lost any of their last 37 Bundesliga home games (W30 D7). On top of that, their record against Austria Vienna in recent times has been incredibly one-sided, with the Red Bulls currently on a 14-game unbeaten streak against the Violets (W13 D1) and becoming the first side ever to inflict eight consecutive league defeats on the capital club.

Marseille’s Champions League push is being fuelled by their away form at present, with Igor Tudor’s side clearly the most comfortable in the league when playing on the road. Through 14 matches, they have picked up 11 wins on their travels and have suffered just a single defeat. Against an injury-hit and out-of-form Lorient side, that run should continue at a sold-out Stade du Moustoir on Sunday.

Lorient have faded badly over the second half of the season while their recent form is unimpressive. From their last 10 matches, they have recorded only a couple of wins against Ajaccio and Troyes – two of the clubs in the bottom three of the standings.

Worse for the home side, they are going to have to negotiate their most severe injury crisis of the season for this match. They are depleted in the midfield and defence particularly, with their top three options at right-back all missing, meaning that Marseille’s dangerous wing-back Nuno Tavares will be licking his lips. This would have been a tough match for Lorient at the best of times, now it is positively fiendish.

While Betis suffered from Atlético’s gain last weekend, the Colchoneros have seen their high confidence continue to skyrocket as a result of Ángel Correa’s late winner. It means that their 2023 form puts them only just behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, as Atleti have taken 27 points from a possible 33.

Antoine Griezmann has just collected the March player of the month award from LaLiga and continues to be the team’s leading light, though much of their good form is down to their strong defensive record, which has seen them win their last three matches to nil. You’d have to go all the way back to October to find a time that a team put two past Jan Oblak in LaLiga.

Rayo Vallecano have not had such luck of late and are now seven without a win, though they have drawn five of those matches. No team has picked up more points than Atlético over the last six games, with 16 from a possible 18, while no team has picked up fewer points than Rayo’s return of four over the same period.

Diego Simeone’s team have an excellent record against Rayo Vallecano, with their last defeat in this fixture coming in 2013, and they’ll be confident of maintaining that.