The Matchday 29 clash in La Liga between Espanyol and Atletico Madrid will take place on March 29 at the Cornella-El Prat Stadium in Barcelona. Espanyol vs. Atletico Madrid: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Espanyol
Manolo Gonzalez's side suffered a 1-2 away defeat to Mallorca in the last round. Prior to that, the Catalans were unbeaten in three consecutive La Liga matches (1 win and 2 draws). Interestingly, the club has not conceded more than two goals in 12 of their last 14 league encounters. Espanyol remains in 15th place in the standings, just one point ahead of the nearest relegation zone rival.
- Both teams have scored in 7 of Espanyol's last 9 games in La Liga.
- Espanyol opened the scoring in 8 of their last 9 La Liga matches.
- At home, the club is unbeaten in eight consecutive league matches (3 wins and 5 draws).
Predicted lineup for Espanyol (4-4-2)
Joan Garcia – Omar El Hilali, Leandro Cabrera, Carlos Romero, Marash Kumbulla – Jofre Carreras, Urko Gonzalez, Alex Kral, Edu Exposito – Javi Puado, Roberto Fernandez Jaen.
Atletico Madrid
The Madrid side enters this fixture with two consecutive defeats in the league. They first lost 1-2 away to Getafe and then suffered a 2-4 home defeat to Barcelona. Interestingly, it has been exactly a year since Diego Simeone's team last experienced two straight league losses. Due to this unfortunate series, the club has fallen four points behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. Nonetheless, the team remains the best defensive side in La Liga, having conceded only 22 goals.
- At least two goals have been scored in 7 of Atletico's last 8 La Liga matches.
- The club opened the scoring in 6 of their last 7 league encounters.
- The Madrid side has not conceded in the first half of their last seven La Liga games.
Predicted lineup for Atletico Madrid (3-4-3)
Jan Oblak – Reinildo Mandava, Clement Lenglet, Robin Le Normand – Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo De Paul, Samuel Lino, Pablo Barrios – Antoine Griezmann, Julian Alvarez, Giuliano Simeone.
Forward Angel Correa will miss the match due to a 5-match suspension.
Match Prediction: Espanyol vs. Atletico Madrid
In the next four La Liga rounds, Atletico Madrid will face opponents who are ranked below ninth place in the standings. This presents a good opportunity to close the gap on the league's top two teams. Diego Simeone will undoubtedly push his players for maximum results in these fixtures. However, a confident win should not be expected from Atletico, as they have secured only one victory by a margin of two or more goals in their last five away league games, and they have also suffered defeats to Leganes and Getafe.
Defeating the Catalans on their home turf will be a challenging task. Espanyol is unbeaten in eight consecutive home matches in La Liga, and they have not lost by a margin of two or more goals in 15 of their last 16 league games at home. Additionally, in their last six meetings at Cornella-El Prat, the Catalans have lost to Atletico only twice, both times by a single goal.
My prediction – Espanyol with a handicap (+1)
