Atletico Madrid will be looking to bounce back from a traumatising ten days of LaLiga and Champions League action, as they welcome an inconsistent Espanyol to the Civitas Metropolitano.
The hosts were defeated quite comfortably at Porto in midweek, just days after losing to strugglers Cadiz in the league, while the visitors drew 1-1 with Mallorca last weekend.
Match preview
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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.
That fourth-placed finish means that Atletico now only have domestic commitments to focus on, as they look to bridge the gap between Barcelona, Real Madrid and the rest of the Spanish top flight.
After all that has gone before, a win against Espanyol feels like a must, as they look to rebuild quickly after a catastrophic fortnight at the club.
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Espanyol have struggled for consistency under new coach Diego Martinez, as they hover just one point above the early relegation standings.
Considered one of the brightest young managers in Spain, after leading Granada to the Europa League quarter-finals, the 41-year-old has depended on lethal striker Joselu for goals this campaign.
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.
Notably, the Catalan side conceded a 96th-minute hammer blow at home to Valencia in early October, as goalkeeper Alvaro Fernandez inexplicably allowed a looping ball to sail over his head in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
They were, however, on the right side of fortune last weekend, as a sliced cross from Jose Carlos Lazo rescued a point against a largely dominant Mallorca.
With just one win on the road all season, Espanyol will be up against it at the Metropolitano but can take encouragement from their solitary away success, a shock 1-0 victory at high-flying Athletic Bilbao.
Team News
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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.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Reinildo, Gimenez, Savic; Carrasco, Witsel, Kondogbia, De Paul, Correa; Morata, Griezmann
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
Lecomte; Olivan, Cabrera, Gomez, Gil; Exposito, Souza, Darder; Puado Joselu, Braithwaite
We say: Atletico Madrid 2-0 Espanyol
It has not been easy to predict Atletico Madrid this season, but this one feels like too big a game for Diego Simeone's men to lose.
Their visitors are notoriously poor travellers, aside from one shock victory, and should not cause too many problems for Los Colchoneros as they look to get back on the winning trail after a tough couple of weeks.
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