Matchday 25 of the La Liga season sees Atletico de Madrid face Espanyol on 21 February at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Atletico de Madrid vs Espanyol: prediction, betting odds and statistics.
Atletico de Madrid
In their last league match, Atletico de Madrid suffered a shock defeat to Rayo Vallecano (0:3). The home team lost by a three-goal margin in the Spanish top flight for the first time since May 2024. That disastrous derby proved the low point of their current slump: their winless run in La Liga has now reached three matches, with just one point taken from a possible nine. What makes it even more surprising is that they failed to score in all three of those games – Atletico de Madrid have not endured a scoring drought like this in La Liga since January–February 2020. As a result, the home side have dropped to fourth in the standings, with their lead over fifth reduced to four points.
- In this league campaign, the club have conceded 21 goals in total – only Real Madrid have let in fewer (19).
- Atletico de Madrid’s home run in this competition stands at 11 matches (10 wins, one defeat).
- At least one team failed to score in each of the last five of Atletico de Madrid’s La Liga matches.
Potential Atletico de Madrid Lineup (4-5-1)*
Jan Oblak – Nahuel Molina, Jose Maria Gimenez, Clement Lenglet, Matteo Ruggeri – Rodrigo Mendoza, Johnny Cardoso, Nicolas Gonzalez, Alex Baena, Thiago Almada – Alexander Sorloth.
Midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza is suspended. Midfielders Pablo Barrios and Nicolas Gonzalez are unavailable due to injuries.
Espanyol
Espanyol are still without a win in La Liga in 2026. Their poor run has now stretched to seven matches, during which time they have collected only two points. A week ago, the visitors let victory slip late on at home to Celta (2:2), a direct rival in the battle for European qualification. If there is any positive to take, it is that the club at least picked up a point after four straight defeats. Moreover, despite their prolonged issues, Espanyol are still holding on to sixth place in the standings – although their advantage over Celta is now minimal.
- Both teams scored in five of Espanyol’s last six matches in the Spanish top flight.
- The club’s away scoring run in this competition stands at eight matches.
- At least two goals have been scored in eight consecutive Espanyol matches in La Liga.
Potential Espanyol Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Marko Dmitrovic – Omar El Hilali, Leandro Cabrera, Clemens Riedel, Carlos Romero – Edu Exposito, Pol Lozano – Cyril Ngonge, Pere Milla, Charles Pickel – Roberto Fernandez.
Captain Javi Puado is unavailable due to injury.
Atletico de Madrid vs Espanyol: Match Prediction
Atletico de Madrid’s slump is becoming unusually severe. The team are not merely dropping points over the course of three La Liga matches – they have taken only one point in that spell, and all three fixtures ended goalless. Even in more successful periods they often lacked a margin for error, and now the problems are even more apparent. Across their six La Liga matches in 2026, the club have won by a margin of two or more goals only once.
Espanyol are also a long way from their best form, but even in their current state they continue to fight until the final minutes. Notably, the Catalans have suffered just one heavy defeat all season in the league. They have lost by a two-goal margin in only three of their previous 12 matches in this competition. It is also worth noting that Espanyol are unbeaten in five straight La Liga head-to-head meetings with Atletico de Madrid (one win, four draws).
Prediction: Espanyol (+1.5)
* For each team, the starting lineup shown is from its previous match in this competition.
