Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Atleti have responded well to a run of 3 defeats from 4 league games which culminated in a 3-0 derby loss to Real Madrid which left their title hopes looking extremely thin. They’ve won 3 games in a row to nil since then. Clean sheets are their speciality so that poor run of form was a concern but the return of Jose Maria Giménez to the back four looks to have improved things a bit and they still boast an overall clean sheet ratio of 46% in La Liga this term, as well as the league’s 2nd best defensive record.

Here though they are likely to be faced with a more difficult task. Defensively it should be a quiet day for Atleti, with Espanyol not boasting a great attacking threat. They’ve failed to score in 38% of their league games this term and have settled for a more cautious approach in recent weeks and it certainly seems to be producing results. They’ve looked really tough to break down of late and have managed to keep clean sheets in 6 of their last 7 matches in La Liga.

Given that, their approach here will surely to be sit deep and get numbers behind the ball, which can be an effective ploy against an Atleti side that don’t run away with games in quite the same way Barcelona and Real Madrid can. There have been under 2.5 goals in 67% of Espanyol away games and 62% of their matches overall in La Liga this term and this has the potential to be low-scoring too.

Atleti may have racked up a couple of convincing home wins but they were against significantly weaker teams than Espanyol. They’ve tried to move towards a slightly more attacking strategy this term but there have been a few too many bad days for Diego Simeone’s liking and he may just be reverting back to the method that has brought plenty of success in recent years.

This has all the makings of a typical tight game at the Vicente Calderon where the opposition parks the bus and Atleti toil away and try to break them down. They might be able to nick a goal but it’s hard to see them running away with it, given Espanyol’s recent impressive defensive showings. So backing under 2.5 goals at 43/40 looks to offer value.