Though Atletico Madrid might have been expected to be in the running for the top four spots as the halfway stage of the campaign approaches, the same cannot necessarily be said of Espanyol, who are outperforming pre-season expectations approaching Saturday night’s big match in the Spanish capital.
For a period los Rojiblancos dropped off the pace of their rivals, suffering a disappointing three match winless period that included encounters against rivals Real Madrid and Villarreal. But they seem to have since come out of their slump, overcoming Osasuna at home and blasting Real Sociedad, a side who had previously been so good at home, 4-2.
“There is a great merit in what we have done, and I have a feeling we won creating less errors,” a contented Quique Sanchez Flores explained to the press after the emphatic win in the Basque Lands last weekend. “Now, we must quickly climb up and obtain a Champions League position.”
At present Atleti lie sixth, but victory on Saturday night could take them as high as fourth. With a busy period of the season approaching with Europa League and Copa del Rey commitments to consider, los Colchoneros will be eager to make as much early ground as possible, and in front of their passionate home support will certainly be aiming for maximum points.
Dark Horses
After seasons of relative mid-table mediocrity, Espanyol finally find themselves challenging for a European berth again. Not only are Mauricio Pochettino’s men on the fringes of the Champions League race, they are also in a strong position to claim a Europa League berth as the top seven in Spain’s top flight threaten to break away.
A fortnight ago a 0-0 draw against Racing Santander threatened to halt the momentum of the Barcelona club, but instead that seemed to inspire them last weekend against a dangerous Hercules side, who were swept to one side 3-0. Verdu opened the scoring after 15 minutes, but it required a couple of late penalties from Pablo Osvaldo and Luis Garcia to really add some gloss.
“It would be nice to say that the goal is Europe, because the first target are the 42 points of permanence,” Luis Garcia, a veteran of Espanyol’s UEFA Cup final appearance of 2007 explained to Marca. “It doesn’t bother me a lot that no-one talks about our club. We should give far greater importance for all people who follow us. The fans are happy.”
Espanyol may have been impressive at home over the course of the campaign, winning all six of their fixtures at the Cornella-El Prat, but on the road they have shown significant flaws, earning only four of their 24 points outside their Catalan home. Anything against Atleti should therefore be taken as a bonus.
TEAM NEWS
Atletico
Diego Godin continues his rehabilitation following a kidney operation, while Sergio Asenjo is still taking steps towards the first team after suffering a long-term injury last term.
Youngster Borja Gonzalez is involved again after picking up a serious injury in May, but he faces a challenge to become Atleti’s third striker ahead of Diego Castro.
Filipe has been tipped to start this game at left-back.
Espanyol
Victor Ruiz is very unlikely to feature, having failed to train at full pace all week. Aldo Duscher and David Garcia are both doubtful, but Ivan de la Pena, Ernesto Galan and Felipe Mattioni are all ruled out.
Prediction
Espanyol’s weaknesses this season have generally been exposed away from home, while it is at the Vicente Calderon that confident Atletico Madrid have most thrived. Quique Sanchez Flores’ side have to be the favourites for this match and will win by a couple of goals.
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Espanyol 
