Atlético de Madrid feels its feelings in Cornellà-El Prat
The colchoneros visit Espanyol on matchday 1 of LaLiga EA Sports
MADRID, 16 (EUROPA PRESS)
Atlético de Madrid will visit RCD Espanyol this Sunday (9:30 p.m.) during Matchday 1 of the EA Sports LaLiga. The club is facing doubts about its starting lineup in midfield and is in the midst of making numerous summer signings. The home side will have their biggest new addition to the goal so far.
The RCDE Stadium officially raises the curtain on the 2025/26 season in the First Division for these two teams, with 'a priori' opposing goals. The Colchoneros are destined to fight for the title as long as they can, while the Periquitos appear to be walking the line between saving themselves and fighting to get into the Conference League.
Diego Pablo Simeone's charges have had an unusual preseason, brought forward to June with official matches for the Club World Cup and resumed at the end of July with three friendlies in a single week. They followed the 1-0 defeat to FC Porto with a 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano and a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
The positive performance at St. James' Park improved on what had been seen previously against the Dragons and Rayo Vallecano, and confirmed that Julián Álvarez is Atlético's guiding light in attack. His understanding with Thiago Almada and Álex Baena will determine much of the Red and Whites' chances of achieving their title contention, a close call with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
But the real deal is midfield, where Pablo Barrios and newcomer Johnny Cardoso were poised to be regular starters at the start of the season… until they got injured. Two weeks on the sidelines for the Moratalaz youth player and one week for the American, so their participation at the RCDE Stadium is still up in the air.
Conor Gallagher and captain Koke Resurrección could be the main players in this match, with Simeone likely to change his system if he opts for Almada and Baena to support the Spider. Not surprisingly, Alexander Sorloth has also been struggling with physical issues recently, and Álvarez is expected to play as the sole striker.
GIMÉNEZ REMAINS INJURED
Among Atlético's new faces, Dávid Hancko and Matteo Ruggeri have had a strong final sprint to the preseason. The Slovakian center-back has been helped by Josema Giménez's injury, while the Italian left-back has so far taken the position from Javi Galán, whose working relationship with 'Cholo' Simeone has been up and down.
For Espanyol, Marko Dmitrovic stands out in goal. Joan García's transfer to Barcelona hasn't gone down well with Espanyol fans, but it has done well with the club's coffers. Otherwise, manager Manolo González may be unsure of his starting forward line between the veteran Kike García and the young Roberto Fernández Jaén.
While the Perica board will decide whether or not to finalize any new signings, newly signed Miguel Rubio is tipped to be a starter in the center of defense. No other summer signings, except perhaps Tyrhys Dolan, are expected to alter the home side's plans to face an Atleti side that has been a struggle for them over the past six years.
Espanyol's last victory against Atlético Madrid came on May 4, 2019, a 3-0 victory in Matchday 36 of that season's La Liga campaign. Since then, things have not gone well for the Blanquiazules neither in front of their fans at Cornellà-El Prat nor at the Metropolitano, having drawn five times and suffered three defeats, one of them at home.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–POSSIBLE LINEUPS:
ESPANYOL: Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Rubio, Cabrera, Romero; Terrats, Edu Expósito, Lozano, Roca; Puado and Roberto Fernández.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak; Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Ruggeri; Gallagher, Koke; G. Simeone, Almada, Baena; and Julian Alvarez.
–REFEREE: Busquets Ferrer (Balearic Islands).
–STADIUM: RCDE Stadium.
–TIME: 9:30 p.m./Orange Fútbol 1, Movistar LALIGA and Movistar Plus+.
