Cornellà, Spain — Espanyol dey prepare to face Atletico Madrid for RCDE Stadium on Saturday afternoon as dem enter Matchday 29 of La Liga. Dis match important for both teams as dem dey fight for different goals. Espanyol dey currently 15th for the table, just one point above relegation zone, while Atletico dey third, trailing leaders Barcelona by four points.
Dis season, Espanyol don struggle with only seven wins, seven draws, and 13 losses from 27 games, accumulating a total of 28 points. Dem lose their last game 2-1 to Mallorca, but dey don gather five points from their last three matches before dat. Dem also fit boast of a nine-match unbeaten home run, including wins against heavyweights like Real Madrid.
“We know sey every match count now, and we no fit afford to lose points again,” Coach Manolo Gonzalez talk. Pol Lozano go return for dis clash after serving ban, but some other players like Fernando Pacheco and Alvaro Tejero no go play due to injuries.
For Atletico, dem dey face challenges too as dem don suffer back-to-back losses for La Liga. Their last outing see dem throway 2-0 lead against Barcelona, ending the match 4-2 in favour of Barcelona. Dis loss followed another defeat against Getafe, putting more pressure on dem as dem try to reclaim form ahead of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona next week.
“We don get tough times, but we dey work hard to turn things around,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. Dis match against Espanyol come at a crucial time, and expectations dey high sey dem go deliver good performance. However, dem go miss Angel Correa who dey serve suspension and Koke wey dey doubt for injury.
As both teams prepare for dis showdown, Espanyol needs to guard against Atletico’s attacking strength. Julian Alvarez, who don score 23 goals in 44 games dis season, dey expected to lead Atletico’s charge. Simeone might shuffle him team due to upcoming fixtures, but dem still boast a strong lineup.
Predicted lineups show sey Espanyol fit use J. Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Carreras, Lozano, Gonzalez, J. Puado; Kral, Fernandez, while Atletico fit field Oblak; Molina, Le Normand, Gimenez, Galan; De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Alvarez, Griezmann. Most analysts dey root for Atletico to take the win dis weekend despite Espanyol’s good form at home.
Calculating the odds, Atletico dey favoured at 1.54, while draw dey at 4.02 and Espanyol at 6.45. As dem prepare for dis match dey, every point go matter plenty for both sides.
