Atl. Madrid vs Espanyol Prediction & Betting Tips (28 August)

Atlético hit very hard in the transfer window in order to compete in the best possible way with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona in the title race. After a solid start at Villarreal 2-2, Griezmann's gang defiled, sorry, Girona, the team which will play in the Champions League this season, last weekend, at home 3-0. Antoine Griezmann also scored a gem from a free kick in this part. We will not forget to remember that the Madrilenians did not lose a single match during the pre-season friendlies and are therefore undefeated for seven friendly matches included + the last day of the championship of last season. On the other side of the median there is a return to the elite, Espanyol Barcelona who will not have made any old bones in the 2nd division by going back a season after going down.

However, the upgrade can be brutal for some promoted players and this is perfectly the case for the Catalans who conceded two defeats in two matches against Valladolid in the first place 1-0 and against Sociedad last weekend at home. 0-1. Small scores certainly, but which do not reassure since after two matches, no goal scored. The experience of a striker like Martin Braithwaite is sorely lacking at Llobregat at the moment.

Before talking about Atléti's XXL transfer window, let's talk about Thomas Lemar who is still injured, he who only played three short matches last season due to physical relapses... Also absent from Marcos Paulo (sporadic within rotation). Very clearly, these two players have no weight in Diego Simeone's choices in any case. Koke, Griezmann and Llorente were the three scorers in the victory at Wanda against Girona. All eyes were on Argentine world champion Julien Alvarez who joined the Spanish capital from Man City where he was expected to play a backup role behind Haaland. He added his name to the list of arrivals with Robin Le Normand (Real Sociedad), Callagher (Chelsea) and Sörloth (Villarreal) who will a priori have a supersub role in the 3-4-3 set up by the Cholo . On the other hand, let's talk about departures with in particular Joao Félix who took charge of Chelsea, Savic (Trabzonspor), Morata (AC Milan), Depay (free), and Saul Niguez (Seville, loan).

Coveted after his great year on loan at Alaves, Omorodion (8 goals) was transferred to Porto very recently, a year after being recruited at the expense of Granada. Clément Lenglet was loaned by Barça to complete the hierarchy of central defenders. Permanently recruited at the expense of Rapid Bucharest this summer, replacement goalkeeper Moldovan was sent on loan to Sassuolo in SB. Unfortunately, Edu Exposito (crucial in the midfield) is still recovering from his ruptured cruciate ligaments and will be missed obviously on call this evening. This is also the only absence to note for the promoted team who lost, as a reminder, Braithwaite (Gremio) in the transfer window after an ultra-prolific season (top scorer in D2 with 22 goals). In addition, the crucial Keidi Bare (Zaragoza) and Nico Melamed (Almeria) have also left, as have Keita Balde (end of loan), defender Oscar Gil (Leuven) and recently the unimportant Soler (Murcia, loan) and Lazo Jose (Albacete, free). The Catalan club is unable to sign players permanently and it is through loans that Marash (AS Roma), Irvin Cardona (Augsburg), Alejo (Tottenham), Alex Kral (Union Berlin) and Carlos Romero (Villarreal ) arrived at the club.