Espanyol v Atletico Madrid

The live sky La Liga match this weekend is the clash between Catalan side Espanyol and Atletico Madrid from the capital. Obviously not the bigger of the Barcelona/Madrid derbies but it will still have a lot of bite. The Catalans don't take too kindly to being put in their place by Madrid! They are slight favourites with Stan James, who bet Espanyol?5/4, The Draw?.9/4, Atletico Madrid?.7/4.Both these sides are currently riding high in La Liga. Espanyol are currently in 4th place and Atletico are 6th. Espanyol seem slightly flattered to be where they are and their manager Miguel Angel Lotina has admitted that he doesn't expect to be anywhere near the top four by the end of the season. Considering they survived relegation on the last day of the season back in May, they will be happy just to survive again. Maybe this a little harsh on them but their expectations are limited.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Not so Atletico Madrid who have always harboured pretensions to be a "Big" club and every year promise so much only to flatter to deceive. Their fans are known as 'los sufridores' or The Sufferers so you can understand?.a bit like Man City??in the shadow of a bigger club on paper, but more passionate and you could argue more historic than their city rivals. Anyway lets have a look at the recent form of both.Espanyol have won 3, drawn 2, and lost 1 at home this season. They lost their last match away to Seville on Saturday 1-0. Up front they have a proven goalscorer in Raul Tamudo. He's already bagged 19 goals this season?.a great strike rate and he's a chance to score first. They defend well and work together as team to make up for the lack of outstanding talent.Atletico have won 1 drawn 2 and lost 3 on the road this season. They have lost their last three away, so their current form has been very suspect. But they did post a win in their last game and this could kick start a little rejuvenation. They apparently have hit the woodwork more times than any other team in La Liga, so they are due a change of fortune. Their proven goalscorer Fernando Torres also has 19 goals this season and he's a ? shot to score first. The return of Ibagaza in midfield made an enormous difference in their last game. He's the engine of the team. Their midfield is average to say the least without him. Defensively they are also very tight. This is one of those games that is pretty evenly balanced. Both sides don't give much away but they also have a prolific goalscorer in their sides so a low scoring draw might be the bet. Get a free bet on this game from Stan James.com