Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol predictions and match preview for Sunday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for analysis, team news and predicted lineups as Diego Martinez takes his side to Madrid.
| Date | Sunday 6th November 2022 |
| Kick-Off | 14:00 (local time) |
| Stadium | Metropolitano |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol Preview
Sunday’s action in LaLiga starts at the Metropolitano where Espanyol are the visitors. It has been a largely disappointing season for both teams so far and both will already be scaling back expectations.
This will be a good test of where the Atletico Madrid fanbase is at in terms of their frustration with this side and whether a minority are starting to question Diego Simeone’s position. That noise normally comes from outside the club more than inside it with El Cholo an iconic and hugely popular figure in the red and white half of Madrid. However there is certainly frustration over what has happened this season and particularly over the last week.
Atleti’s last league outing was a 3-2 defeat at lowly Cadiz, a side who had LaLiga’s worst goalscoring record heading into the game, but somehow managed to score 3 times against an Atletico Madrid side that has historically been so strong defensively under Simeone. That left them 9 points off the top of LaLiga and worse was to follow in midweek as they crashed out of Europe altogether with defeat in Porto. Only the Copa del Rey now remains as a realistic trophy target this season.
As for Espanyol, there was much excitement when they managed to attract Diego Martinez to the club in the summer. It has been a tough start for the former Granada boss though with just 11 points from 12 games placing them just one point above the relegation zone heading into this weekend. With Villarreal up next, there’s a danger they could be in the bottom three when the World Cup break comes next week.
Even if that does happen, Martinez should be given time to turn things around and he’ll be hoping to use the break to work on some things as this isn’t a squad that will be depleted by players jetting off to Qatar. They could probably do with some defensive additions in January though with only 3 teams having let in more goals than the Catalan club so far this season.
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Team News & Possible Lineups
Atletico Madrid
| INJURED | |
| DOUBTFUL | Lemar, Koke |
| BANNED | Saul |
Possible XI: Oblak – Reinildo, Gimenez, Savic, Molina – Carrasco, De Paul, Kondogbia, Llorente – Griezmann, Morata (4-4-2)
Coach: Diego Simeone
Espanyol
| INJURED | Sanchez, Pedrosa |
| DOUBTFUL | |
| BANNED |
Possible XI: Lecomte – Olivan, Cabrera, Gomez, Gil – Exposito, Darder, Souza – Braithwaite, Joselu, Puado (4-3-3)
Coach: Diego Martinez
Score Prediction: Atletico Madrid 2-1 Espanyol
At this point, you just don’t know what to expect from Atletico Madrid. They’ve actually got some good results on the road in LaLiga this season but there is no consistency to them whatsoever. In theory, they should have the beating of an unconvincing Espanyol side, but it’s hard to be confident.
PLEASE NOTE – Our LaLiga predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.
