Vice-leader and best visitor of the Spanish Championship in his 2017/2018 season, Atletico Madrid have Espanyol as an opponent this Friday, December 22. In the RCDE stadium, in Barcelona, the game integrates the seventeenth round of the Spanish Championship and has kick-off scheduled to 18h30 (Brasília time).

The recent performance of Espanyol

The Catalan team has not won for three rounds. After two defeats, they managed to tie 2-2 away from home against Las Palmas on Sunday, December 17, in a match for the day of number 16.
The result could even be considered good before the game, but ended up becoming only acceptable in the face of events. Espanyol took a 2-0 lead in the first half and kept it until the final 35 minutes. However, a ‘blackout’ allowed the owners of the house the reaction that just did not become a turnaround because the Las Palmas wasted the penalty of a penalty already in the extras.
With the point in the bag, Espanyol reached 17 (four wins, five draws and seven losses) in the standings. He completed the sixteenth round in the sixteenth position with five advantage over the Alavés, who then opened the sticking region in eighteenth place.
Very little for a team that last season managed to play until the final rounds the right to participate in the Europa League. It failed to reach the goal, but it was expected at least a similar campaign in the current season.
It has oscillated a lot, especially in your domains. Of the eight matches played in his stadium, he won four, lost three and drew one. He is only the tenth best entrant of LaLiga.

The current form of Atletico Madrid

Atlético de Madrid, by contrast, is the most feared visitor to the tournament. He accumulated 21 (six wins and three draws) from the 27 points he played in that situation. He proved in this way the efficiency of his tactical schematic of boom / counterattack.
With seven goals conceded, his defense is next to the one of Barcelona less leaked of LaLiga. The club, however, sins in the offensive sector. He scored 25 goals. It is the worst production among the top four.
Recovered from the injury of elimination in the European Champions League in their group stage, Atletico won the last four LaLiga games and will defend an undefeated 16-game series on Friday (eight wins and eight draws).
Although the number of equalities is very large in this list, the quality of recent results is better. In the ten most recent games, the wins were seven and the draws only three.
To face Espanyol, coach Diego Simeone has only one doubt. It depends on a new evaluation of the medical department compared to Argentine midfielder Nicolas Gaitán (six matches in the Spanish 2017/2018 Championship, no goal). He was out of the last four matches because of the injury.

History of the matches Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid have not lost seven games to Espanyol. In the period, he won five times and tied twice.

In the face of a Espanyol needing to win to try to improve their situation in the dispute of LaLiga, Atletico Madrid can act in the way that you like. Without taking defensive risks forming two lines with nine players trying to avoid the progress of the opponent and trying to put speed in the definition of the plays the moment they regain possession of the ball.
This is not a revolutionary strategy, but it has brought great results for the club, which is the best guessing option for the duel. It has a price of 1.75 in Rivalo. Draw presents prize of 3.50 and success of the owners of the house yields 5.00 per 1.

1st TIP: Madrid win @ 1.75
2nd TIP: DRAW @ 3.50