Atletico Madrid start the new season with a trip to the RCDE Stadium to take on Espanyol, and Diego Simeone could name as many as five new signings in his first starting lineup.
For the second summer in succession, Los Rojiblancos have really attacked the transfer market. Alex Baena is their headline addition, while Argentine Thiago Almada is also rated very highly. David Hancko, Matteo Ruggeri and Johnny Cardoso are also looking to make an impact on matchday one, following summer moves.
They’ve had a brief pre-season, after only a short stay at the Club World Cup, but a 2-0 victory over Newcastle in a friendly last time out at least sends them into the new league campaign in good spirits.
Espanyol also met the Magpies in their final pre-season game, drawing 2-2 on Tyneside. They’ve not lost any of their six friendly games, having survived on the final day of last term when they defeated Las Palmas 2-0.
The Catalans have lost some important players over the summer, most notably goalkeeper Joan Garcia who has joined local rivals Barcelona, but they’ve also added to their squad, with the likes of Marko Dmitrovic, Ramon Terrats and Kike Garcia coming in.
How the bookies view it: Atleti the odds-on favourites
Boylesports make Atletico Madrid the 11/20 favourites to win this match. The draw is priced at 11/4, while Espanyol, who upset Real Madrid on this ground earlier in 2025, are available at 5/1.
Recent head-to-head: Reason to back the draw
All of the last four meetings have ended level, so there’s plenty of reason to think that the value here lies with backing the draw at 11/4. Atleti have dropped points on three of their last four trips to the RCDE Stadium, with both teams scoring in all of those matches.
Players to watch: Puado to shine?
Javi Puado was widely expected to leave Espanyol on a free transfer this summer, but he eventually signed a new deal with his boyhood club. He was impressive last term, netting 12 goals in 35 appearances in La Liga to finish as his team’s top scorer by some distance. You can back Puado to score anytime at 7/2 with Boylesports in this match.
Predicted Lineups
Youngster Javier Hernandez is expected to be the only injury absentee for Espanyol, although he almost certainly wouldn’t have started even if fit.
As for Atleti, they’ll have to cope without the injured Jose Maria Gimenez. Otherwise, Simeone should have a full squad to pick from.
Espanyol: Dmitrovic, Romero, Cabrera, Rubio, El Hilali, Carreras, Lozano, Exposito, Terrats, Puado, R. Fernandez.
Atletico Madrid: Oblak, Ruggeri, Hancko, Le Normand, Llorente, Barrios, Cardoso, Almada, Baena, Simeone, Alvarez.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given this fixture usually delivers goals when the teams meet in Catalunya, and given both sides are in need of adapting following some major personnel changes at the back, there’s reason to think we could see some goalmouth action here.
Espanyol have now got three very capable forward players who could pose a threat to Jan Oblak’s goal, and you can back both teams to score at 23/20 with Boylesports.
GambleAware