Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Espanyol will be expected to be firmly in the relegation battle in La Liga as the Catalans take on Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid at the RCDE Stadium on the opening day.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid may be televised on one of their affiliated channels

How to watch online: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN+

Espanyol preview: Likely strugglers

After an improvement in the second-half of last season, Espanyol collapsed towards the end of the campaign and they ended up only just surviving the bottom three and the relegation places on the final day of the 2024/25 La Liga campaign.

The Catalans remain under the management of former B team coach Manolo Gonzalez, and they will once again be concerned about relegation, despite intriguing additions such as Ramon Terrats, Tyrhys Dolan and Kike Garcia.

Atletico Madrid preview: Have to evolve

Atletico Madrid were on course for the treble in mid-March before a mid-spring collapse, but Diego Simeone, for a second successive summer, has been heavily financially backed in the summer transfer window as they seek to go again.

Los Rojiblancos have spent close to £150 million in this window, with the standout signings being that of David Hancko, Johnny Cardoso, Alex Baena and Thiago Almada from Feyenoord, Real Betis, Villarreal and Botafogo respectively.

Espanyol team news: Couple be strong

Ahead of the visit of Atletico Madrid, Espanyol do not have any of their strongest eleven or strongest squad missing through suspension or injury on the opening day of the season.

Predicted XI (3-5-2): Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera; Ruben Sanchez, Edu Exposito, Pol Lozano, Jofre Carreras, Pere Milla; Javi Puado, Roberto Fernandez

Unavailable: Javi Hernandez (Injured)

Questionable: 

Atletico Madrid team news: A couple of doubts

As they make the trip across to Catalonia, Atletico Madrid are dealing with a couple of key issues as Jose Maria Gimenez and Pablo Barrios are both potentially unavailable. 

Predicted XI (4-4-2): Oblak; Nahuel Molina, Lenglet, Hancko, Javi Galan; Alex Baena, Koke, Johnny, Giuliano Simeone; Sorloth, Julian Alvarez

Unavailable: 

Questionable: Jose Maria Gimenez (Injured), Pablo Barrios (Injured)

Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid prediction

Espanyol had seemingly steered themselves clear of danger before a collapse last year, and there will be a concern that their good form was just two months of anomalous performances and results, with the expectation being that they regress again. Atletico have a lot of options and an impressive squad. These are the types of games they simply cannot afford to drop points in if they are to mount a title challenge.

Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid tip: Atletico Madrid to win & under 3.5 goals