After their Champions League disappointment, Atletico Madrid will look back to winning ways when they play Espanyol at the Vicente Calderon this Sunday in La Liga with a kickoff at 5:15 pm.
Atletico Madrid’s journey in the 2021-22 Champions Leagues ended on Wednesday evening, as they drew 0-0 with Manchester City in the second leg of their quarter-final, ultimately losing 1-0 on aggregate.
Man City had the last laugh, with Atletico now only having La Liga football to focus on for the remainder of the campaign. Despite their surprise 1-0 defeat at Mallorca last weekend, which ended a six-game winning run in Spain’s top flight, Atletico sits in the table’s fourth spot, just one point clear of fifth-placed Real Betis.
Atletico Madrid is only three points behind second-placed Barcelona, although they still believe that they can claim the runners-up spot behind Real Madrid, as the leaders have a 12-point advantage.
Espanyol suffered a 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid in the reverse fixture, but they’ve had a recent away victory over their rivals, running out 2-0 winners in May 2018. It took the Catalan side eight away games to secure their first league victory of the season, which has left them in the 11th spot in the table with 39 points, 11 points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz.
Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol Head to Head
Both sides have 28 games against each other with hosts taking 16 wins while visitors with seven wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Atletico Madrid 0-0 Man City
- RCD Mallorca 1-0 Atletico Madrid
- Man City 1-0 Atletico Madrid
- Atletico Madrid 4-0 Deportivo Alaves
- Rayo Vallecano 0-1 Atletico Madrid
Away
- Espanyol 1-0 Celta Vigo
- Real Sociedad 1-0 Espanyol
- Espanyol 1-0 RCD Mallorca
- Levante 1-1 Espanyol
- Espanyol 2-0 Getafe
Atletico Madrid Team News
Despite concerns over key defender Gimenez and playmaker Herrera, Atletico are likely to field largely the same side that beat Manchester City in their Champions League quarter-final second leg. The attacking trio of Joao Felix, Griezmann and Angel Correa have been consistently successful all season
Espanyol Team News
Espanyol head coach Quique Sánchez Flores will have most of his squad ready for Thursday’s match at “Wanda Metropolitano”, but Yangel Herrera will be unable to play due to his yellow card in the game against Celta.
Prediction and Odds
We expect Atletico Madrid to win this weekend, as they are eager to bounce back from their Champions League defeat.
- Atletico Madrid Win
- Goals Under 2.5
- No Score: Away
