Atletico Madrid vs. Espanyol: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info
Four straight home wins have arrested any lingering doubts about Atletico Madrid’s season, with Diego Simeone’s men now sitting second in the Liga table following Real Madrid’s El Clasico defeat last weekend.
An advantage over Real at any point of the campaign is something that has to be built upon, and so there will be no thought other than turning those four straight wins into five when Espanyol come calling to the Vicente Calderon on Saturday evening.
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The visitors are firmly mid-table following what has been an inconsistent opening third to their season, but their home win over Malaga last weekend at least ensures that they’ll approach this clash from the top half of the table.
Given that they’ve failed to score in five of their last six meetings with Saturday’s opponents, they may need to cling onto that optimism.
Date: Saturday, November 28
Time: 5.15 p.m. GMT / 12.15 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Vicente Calderon, Madrid
TV Info: Sky Sports
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last Six Results
Atletico Madrid
Won 2-1 vs. Valencia (Home)
Drew 1-1 vs. Deportivo (Away)
Drew 0-0 vs. Astana (Away)
Won 1-0 vs. Sporting Gijon (Home)
Won 1-0 vs. Real Betis (Away)
Won 2-0 vs. Galatasaray (Home)
Espanyol
Lost 2-1 vs. Sporting Gijon (Home)
Won 3-1 vs. Real Betis (Away)
Lost 3-0 vs. Rayo Vallecano (Away)
Drew 1-1 vs. Granada (Home)
Lost 2-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao (Away)
Won 2-0 vs. Malaga (Home)
Team News
Atletico Madrid
Fernando Torres played the full 90 minutes against Galatasaray in midweek as the forward came in for the injured Jackson Martinez, but the very fact that Simeone left the Spanish forward on for the whole game suggests that he might be considering leaving him out of this one.
Presuming Martinez is still out, that could mean a start for Argentinian forward Luciano Vietto in support of Antoine Griezmann, who scored twice against the Turks before departing for the final quarter of the match.
Oliver Torres came on for Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco in midweek and could start in his place.
Possible Lineup: Oblak, Jesus Gamez, Godin, Gimenez, Filipe Luis, Tiago, Gabi, Koke, Oliver Torres, Griezmann, Vietto.
Espanyol
Arbilla is the only reported injury at Espanyol at the time of writing, so coach Sergio Gonzalez must be tempted to go with the same XI that impressively beat Malaga at home last time out.
Of course, this will be a much tougher test, with perhaps the only change seeing left-back Ruben Duarte come in for Juan Fuentes, whom he replaced at the break in that Malaga victory.
Possible Lineup: Pau Lopez, Javi Lopez, Roco, Gonzalez, Ruben Duarte, Diop, Sanchez, Alvarez, Asensio, Perez, Caicedo.
Key Players
Atletico Madrid: Koke
He scored the winner just seven minutes into Atletico’s last league clash at Real Betis, and Spanish midfielder Koke was again on form against Galatasaray, using the ball both impressively and intelligently as he played a key role in the victory.
He’ll be vital again here, especially if the less-experienced Vietto plays and consistently drops deeper in order to pick the ball up from midfield.
Espanyol: Hernan Perez
Paraguay international winger Hernan Perez has been in impressive form ever since joining Espanyol on a free transfer from Villarreal in the summer, and he virtually won the match for his team within the opening 20 minutes thanks to his two goals against Malaga last weekend.
If he stays wide and his team look to get him the ball as often as possible, then left-back Filipe Luis will be in for a tough evening, and one that might surprise him a little.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Atletico Madrid: 1-4
Espanyol: 12-1
Draw: 17-4
