Atletico Madrid will be looking to bounce back from their Champions League disappointment when they resume their La Liga campaign at home to Espanyol on Sunday afternoon.
Diego Simeone's side are currently fourth in the table, one point ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis, while Espanyol occupy 11th position, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Atletico's journey in the 2021-22 Champions League came to an end on Wednesday evening, as they drew 0-0 with Manchester City in the second leg of their quarter-final, ultimately losing 1-0 on aggregate.
An ill-tempered affair led to clashes both during the match and after the final whistle, but Man City had the last laugh, with Atletico now only having La Liga football to focus on for the remainder of the campaign.
Simeone's team suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at Mallorca last weekend, which ended a six-game winning run in Spain's top flight, and the reigning champions currently sit in fourth spot in the table, just one point clear of fifth-placed Real Betis.
The Red and Whites are only three points behind second-placed Barcelona, though, and will still believe that they can claim the runners-up spot behind Real Madrid, who will surely go on to win the title from this position, as the leaders have a 12-point advantage.
Atletico have the third-best home record in La Liga this season, picking up 33 points from 15 matches, and they will be taking on an Espanyol side that have won just one of their 15 away league fixtures this term.
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Espanyol suffered a 2-1 loss to Atletico in the reverse match earlier this season, but they have a recent away victory over the capital giants to their name, running out 2-0 winners in May 2018.
The Catalan outfit have won 10, drawn nine and lost 12 of their 31 league matches this term to collect 39 points, which has left them in 11th spot in the table, 11 points ahead of 18th-placed Cadiz.
Vicente Moreno's side won the Segunda Division last season to return to this level of football, so consolidating back in the top flight was always going to be their priority during the 2021-22 campaign.
Espanyol will enter this weekend's match in strong form, having lost just one of their last five in the league, recording three victories in the process, although all three of those came in front of their own supporters.
Last Sunday, the White and Blues were 1-0 winners over Celta Vigo, with Wu Lei coming off the bench to net the winner in the 89th minute of the contest at RCDE Stadium.
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Team News
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Atletico will again be without the services of Hector Herrera due to a thigh problem, while Jose Gimenez is also unlikely to be available for selection due to a muscular issue.
Head coach Simeone is unlikely to make many changes to the side that started against Man City in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann again set to feature in the final third of the field.
However, Rodrigo De Paul and Yannick Carrasco could be introduced to freshen the side, while Luis Suarez, Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha will all be hoping to play a part.
As for Espanyol, head coach Moreno could have a fully-fit squad for the clash at Wanda Metropolitano, but Yangel Herrera will miss out due to his yellow card against Celta.
Herrera could be replaced by Tonny Vilhena in the starting side, but it might otherwise be the same team that took to the field for the first whistle last time out.
As a result, Raul de Tomas, who has scored 14 La Liga goals this season, should again be supported by Javi Puado and Adri Embarba in the forward positions.
Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Llorente, Savic, Felipe, Reinildo, Carrasco; Koke, Kondogbia, De Paul; Felix, Griezmann
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
D Lopez; Gil, Calero, Cabrera, Pedrosa; Bare, Darder; Embarba, Vilhena, Puado; De Tomas
We say: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Espanyol
Atletico will be determined to bounce back from their Champions League disappointment, and we are expecting the home side to triumph this weekend. That said, Espanyol will be the fresher of the two teams and are more than capable of making it an uncomfortable 90 minutes for Simeone's team.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atletico Madrid win with a probability of 65.96%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Espanyol had a probability of 13.71%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atletico Madrid win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.34%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (12.29%) and 2-1 (9.69%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.66%), while for a Espanyol win it was 0-1 (4.81%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Atletico Madrid would win this match.
