Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid Prediction & Betting Tips - LaLiga

Prediction published on 10/09/2021, 11:36  by James | Modified on 10/09/2021 at 12:36 in LaLiga Predictions

La Liga champions Atletico Madrid travel to Barcelona on Sunday for a league game away to Espanol. Atletico, fifth in the table, have seven points from their opening three games, while Espanol, 16th, are yet to win and only have two points. Atletico fans look forward to this game because it will feature the second debut of Antoine Griezmann. The France international was a legend for Atleti, scoring 133 in 257 games, before leaving for Barcelona in a big-money transfer in 2019. Griezmann struggled to settle at Barca, often looking like a shadow of his former self. After 35 goals in 102 Barcelona games, Griezmann returned to Atletico on transfer deadline day in a loan deal that could prove a masterstroke by Los Rojiblancos. As an unusually nasty pre-season clash with Feyenoord previewed, Atletico games have been rough affairs in the early weeks of the campaign. They are the most carded team in the league, with 12 yellows and one red. Espanol aren't far behind, with nine yellows and one red. Two of the previous four encounters between these teams featured penalties, so the chance of the ref awarding a spot-kick seems high.

Espanol were relegated in 2020 after a dire campaign but only needed one attempt to make it back to the Spanish top tier. They have not won a La Liga game in their last 13 tries and have not scored in their previous eight top-flight outings. Espanol have compensated for this inability to score by putting in impressive defensive displays. They have only conceded one goal this season. This penchant for safety-first football often leads to low-scoring matches, with their last eight La Liga featuring fewer than three goals. Four of the most recent six games between the teams failed to break the two-goal mark. We suspect another such game is incoming. Back under 2.5 goals.