Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol 22/12/18

22 December 2018

Atletico Madrid will welcome a struggling Espanyol side to the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano looking to extend a 12-game lossless run in all competitions.

Los Colchoneros boast an almost perfect home record (W6, D2), remaining the only team in the Spanish top-tier competition that is yet to suffer a failure on home soil. Not only Diego Simeone’s players won four out of last five home games in La Liga, but they have also managed to keep a clean sheet three times during the run. What’s more, only Real Madrid (3) have conceded fewer goals than Atletico Madrid (4) at home this campaign. Meanwhile, Los Rojiblancos have scored in each of their twelve local encounters across all competitions, notching a minimum of two goals per match eight times in the process.

On the other hand, the visitors have lost all of their last five La Liga clashes, conceding at least three goals per match in their previous four outings. Furthermore, with just one victory out of eight road games, the Periquitos are one of the weakest road teams in the Spanish top flight, considering they’ve lost four encounters during the run. The Blanquiazules have failed to keep a clean sheet away from home seven times so far while struggling to hit the back of the net two times in the process. A potential worry for Rubi ahead of this meeting could be that his players have scored one goal or less in their last nine games across all competitions.

Provisional line-up – Atletico Madrid:

Gk: Oblak Defense: Arias – Godin – Savic – Jose Maria Gimenez Midfield: Koke – Rodri – Saul Niguez – Angel Correa Attack: Griezmann – Kalinic

Provisional line-up – Espanyol:

Gk: Diego Lopez Defense: Rosales – Oscar Duarte – Pedrosa – David Lopez Midfield: Sanchez – Marc Roca – Granero Attack: Sergio Garcia – Leo Baptistao – Iglesias Quintas