Atletico Madrid will look to get back to winning ways when they welcome Espanyol to Wanda Metropolitano this Sunday.
Venue: Metropolitana Stadium (Madrid)
Key Statistics
Atletico Madrid are winless in their last three home games (D3).
They have conceded 2+ goals in each of their last three games.
Atletico have the fourth-best attack in the league, having scored 20 goals.
Espanyol have conceded first in their last four league away games.
The visitors have the most draws in the league this season (five).
They are winless in their last 12 top-flight away contests against La Liga’s current top four (D2, L10).
They have kept just one clean sheet in the league this season.
Head to head
Atletico Madrid have five wins in the last ten meetings between both sides. Espanyol have two wins.
Latest performances in all competitions
Atletico Madrid: L-L-D-W-D
Espanyol: D-D-L-W-D
Atletico Madrid
After concluding a humiliating Champions League campaign with yet another humiliating performance against FC Porto, Atletico Madrid now turn their attention to Espanyol as they go in search of their first win in their last three matches in all competitions.
Diego Simeone has come to the lowest point in his tenure as the Atletico Madrid coach.
The Rojiblancos were dumped out of Europe’s Premier competitions, finishing a lowly fourth behind Bayer Leverkusen, Club Brugge and winners FC Porto in Group B of the Champions League.
They managed to win just once in their six group games, which ultimately saw them miss out on a chance at redemption in the second tier of the UEFA competition; the Europa League.
However, the capital-based club have managed to remain in the mix to finish in the top four this season in the league.
Simeone’s side currently occupies the third position in the La Liga standings, level on points with fourth-placed Real Betis and one point ahead of fifth-placed Real Sociedad.
However, after dropping points in their last outing in the league following a 3-2 loss to Cadiz last weekend, the Rojiblancos find themselves walking a tightrope as any further slip-up could spell doom for them, with the World Cup around the corner.
Head coach Diego Simeone is under pressure to find a way to get the struggling side back to their usual best, and the game against Espanyol will present a perfect opportunity for the Argentine coach to win back the support of the fans by masterminding a dominant win over Diego Martinez’s side, and with three wins, one draw and one loss in their last five games against Los Periquitos, the Rojiblancos will fancy their chances of getting another win to banish the ghost of their Champions League heartbreak.
Possible Atletico Madrid starting line-up
Jan Oblak; Nahuel Molina, Stefan Savic, Jose Gimenez, Reinildo; Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Yannick Carrasco; Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata.
Injured: Thomas Lemar, Koke
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Saul Niguez
RCD Espanyol
Espanyol have not had the best start to the season, and after gaining promotion back to the Spanish topflight in the 2020/2021 season, Los Periquitos are once more hovering too close to the relegation berths.
Diego Martinez has not had the desired effect since taking over from Vicente Moreno at the start of the season. The Spanish manager has overseen a total of two wins, five losses and five draws, with his side sitting in 16th place in the La Liga standings.
The visitors have picked just one win in their last six games, which includes one loss and four draws. They come into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw with Mallorca last week, their second draw in a row.
Jose Carlos Lazo came on to score the equaliser for Los Periquitos in the 70th minute after Vedat Muriqi had given Mallorca the lead at the beginning of the second half.
And so, Martinez will be keen to see his side finally get their hands on a win, but the prospect of facing Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano will give any football manager a bit of a worry.
However, with Diego Simeone seemingly losing his touch, which has in turn taken a toll on his team’s performance, Espanyol will fancy their chances of coming away from the Spanish capital with a positive result.
Possible Espanyol starting line-up
Benjamin Lecomte; Oscar Gil, Sergi Gomez, Leandro Cabrera, Brian Olivan; V. de Souza, Edu Exposito; Javier Puado, Sergi Darder, Martin Braithwaite; Joselu.
Injured: Ruben Sanchez, Adria Pedrosa
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Odds
| Atletico Madrid to win | Draw | Espanyol to win | |
| Odds | 1.50 | 4.33 | 6.50 |
| Probability (%) | 63 | 22 | 15 |
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 2-2 Espanyol
