Espanyol vs. Atletico Madrid: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
After midweek events in the UEFA Champions League the last place that Atletico Madrid would have wanted to go this weekend would have been Barcelona, but at least this trip is to the Cornella-El Prat and not the Camp Nou.
Prior to that controversial 2-1 victory on Tuesday night, Barca’s El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid has at least offered up a degree of hope to second-place Atletico, who would move to within three points of the league leaders with a victory over their city rivals.
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Diego Simeone might have one eye on Wednesday night’s Champions League return leg, against an inconsistent side who have recovered from their woeful start to 2016 to sit eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Constantin Galca’s men aren’t likely to go down, but they will at least want to amass enough points for a second successive top-half finish, as well as prolong a four-match unbeaten run.
Date: Saturday, April 9
Time: 5.15 p.m. GMT / 12.15 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadi Cornella-El Prat, Barcelona
TV Info: Sky Sports 5
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last 6 Results
Espanyol
Won 4-2 vs. Sporting Gijon
Lost 3-0 vs. Real Betis
Won 2-1 vs. Rayo Vallecano
Drew 1-1 vs. Granada
Won 2-1 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Drew 1-1 vs. Malaga
Atletico Madrid
Won 3-1 vs. Valencia
Won 3-0 vs. Deportivo
Drew 0-0 vs. PSV Eindhoven (won 8-7 on pens)
Lost 2-1 vs. Sporting Gijon
Won 5-1 vs. Real Betis
Lost 2-1 vs. Barcelona
Team News
Espanyol
Unbeaten in four, Espanyol coach Galca will be looking to limit the changes as he takes on an Atletico side that he hopes will be distracted by events in the Champions League.
Defender Anaitz Arbilla is the only reported injury in the squad, but Galca faces a dilemma over who to pick as his lone forward, with the former Manchester City man Felipe Caicedo pressing for a start after replacing Gerard Moreno before the hour mark at Malaga last weekend.
Pape Diop scored their only goal of that game, and he is set to start again in midfield.
Possible XI: Pau Lopez, Rios, Alvaro, Roco, R. Duarte, O. Duarte, Asensio, Sanchez, Diop, Abraham, Caicedo.
Atletico Madrid
Red carded in the Champions League in midweek, Fernando Torres seems certain to start here given that he’ll be ruled out for the second leg at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday.
The veteran forward will be eager to make amends for his moments of madness, but elsewhere Simeone faces selection dilemmas as he bids to keep players fresh for that second leg.
The young defender Nacho Monsalve could come back in after making his debut in the win over Real Betis last weekend, thereby giving Diego Godin a rest, while Thomas Partey could earn a start after coming off the bench in midweek.
Possible XI: Oblak, Juanfran, Monsalve, Gomez, Luis, Gabi, Fernandez, Thomas, Koke, Griezmann, Torres.
Key Players
Espanyol: Pau Lopez
As they showed at Barcelona in midweek, Atletico Madrid don’t need a lot of chances to score a goal, and so the performance of the 21-year-old Pau Lopez in goal for Espanyol is going to be crucial to the home side’s chances of picking up a good result.
In his first season as his club’s No. 1 Lopez has found life difficult, playing in 29 of his side’s 31 La Liga games as they have conceded 57 goals—more than every other club in the division bar Rayo Vallecano.
Atletico Madrid: Fernando Torres
The notion that he let down Atletico Madrid’s fans would have been playing on Fernando Torres’ mind from the moment that he trudged down the tunnel at the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening, and he’ll be desperate to make amends here.
The forward is still unsure over whether or not he’ll remain an Atletico player next season, and without a game in midweek to prepare for he is likely to play the full 90 minutes here.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Espanyol—7/2
Atletico Madrid—21/20
Draw—23/10
