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Atletico Madrid will attempt to rebound from a tumultuous ten days of LaLiga and Champions League activity when they host an inconsistent Espanyol at the Civitas Metropolitano.
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The hosts were easily trounced at Porto in midweek, only days after losing to league strugglers Cadiz, while the visitors drew 1-1 with Mallorca the previous weekend.
Match preview
Following Atletico Madrid has never been for the faint-hearted, but the drama of their Champions League exit and LaLiga defeat over the last two weeks has been very tough to take for players and supporters alike.
Having been awarded a penalty after the full-time whistle last Wednesday, to keep their European dreams alive, Yannick Carrasco saw his spot kick saved, before the rebound hit the crossbar, and a final effort was deflected off target in the 99th minute of the contest.
Then, in LaLiga, Diego Simeone’s men scored in the 85th and 89th minute to pull their contest with Cadiz back to 2-2, before conceding a 99th-minute winner to become the first side to lose at the Estadio Ramon Carranza this season.
A deflating midweek defeat to Porto provided the icing on the cake for Los Colchoneros, who finished bottom of their Champions League group for the first time in their history.
Espanyol have struggled for consistency under new coach Diego Martinez, as they hover just one point above the early relegation standings.
Even so, with just one defeat in their last six, Los Pericos are starting to look relatively stable and would be in a much healthier position were it not for injury-time equalisers and goalkeeping howlers.
Team News
The hosts have not been without their injury problems this campaign, with Koke (thigh) and Thomas Lemar (muscular) set to miss out once again.
Marcos Llorente has been struggling with a calf injury since early October, but could make the bench this weekend, while Saul is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.
The visitors, on the other hand, have no fresh injury concerns, and will only continue without full-backs Adria Pedrosa and Ruben Sanchez.
Martin Braithwaite should join Joselu and Javi Puado up front, as Los Pericos look for just their second away win of the calendar year.
Possible starting lineup:
| Atletico Madrid | Espanyol |
|---|---|
| Oblak, Jan | Lecomte, Benjamin |
| Mandava, Reinildo | Cabrera, Leandro |
| Molina, Nahuel | Olivan, Brian |
| Savic, Stefan | Gomez, Sergi |
| Gimenez, Jose Maria | Calero, Fernando |
| Witsel, Axel | Darder, Sergi |
| Koke | de Souza Costa, Vinicius |
| Niguez, Saul | Exposito, Edu |
| Carrasco, Yannick | Puado, Javi |
| Morata, Alvaro | Joselu, Mato |
| Griezmann, Antoine | Braithwaite, Martin |
Probabilities
Atletico = 46.8%
Draw = 23.8%
Espanyol = 29.4%
Prediction
Atletico Madrid 1-1 Espanyol
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