Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid verdict, predicted score, key stats and suggested bets
- Seb Sternik
- 23 May 2023
Espanyol are running out of time in their battle to avoid the drop, although a win against Atletico Madrid could reinvigorate their survival ambitions.
With just three rounds remaining until the end of the season, Espanyol are in desperation mode. Luckily for them, Atletico haven't got much to play for on Wednesday night.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
La Liga, Wednesday May 24, Kick-off 9.00pm, live on Viaplay Sports 2
Predicted score
Suggested bets
Espanyol to win
One goal winning margin
Both teams to score
Key stats
Espanyol have won two of their last four games.
Atletico Madrid have lost two of their last three away matches.
Espanyol have picked up eight points from their last eight matches at home.
Atletico have only won once away against Espanyol in their last four visits.
Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid team news
Espanyol will be without three players as Martin Braithwaite, Gori and Jose Gragera remain on the sidelines with injuries.
Atletico, on the other hand, will have to manage without Memphis Depay, Reinildo Mandava and Stefan Savic.
Diego Simeone could have further problems as four players remain doubts for Wednesday's outing. These are Thomas Lemar, Marcos Llorente, Alvaro Morata and Jan Oblak.
Verdict
Espanyol turned desperation into three valuable points at Rayo Vallecano last weekend, throwing themselves a late lifeline in the battle against relegation.
As things stand, the Barcelona outfit find themselves second-bottom in the standings but only one point from safety.
On paper, Espanyol face a tough test at home against second-placed Atletico Madrid. Then again, with the title already beyond their reach and the top four in the bag, there's little motivation for Diego Simeone's side.
Espanyol will certainly hope that's the case as they target their third league victory in five games.
A big positive for Luis Garcia's men is the fact they are playing at home. Espanyol have picked up eight points from their last eight outings at the RCDE Stadium.
What's more, Espanyol boast a strong recent record against Atletico on home turf, winning two and losing one of their last four meetings.
Simeone's side will travel to Barcelona in good spirits following a 3-0 thrashing of Osasuna at the weekend. That result extended Atletico's winning run at home to eight straight games.
The same cannot be said about their away fortunes, having lost two of their last three on the road.
With Espanyol in fight or flight mode, we're backing the hosts to strengthen their survival hopes with an unlikely win against Atletico.
The hosts don't tend to keep many clean sheets and Atletico should get on the board. Despite this, we're backing Espanyol to get the job done in what should be a close contest.
