The 1st Spanish La Liga game on Sunday night is going to be between Atletico Madrid and Espanyol. Atletico is tied for the 3rd spot with 23 points while Espanyol has 11 points that give them 16th position although 2 other teams are behind them with 11 points as well. Atletico isn't having the best time as they haven't won in the last 3 straight games. The team finished the UEFA Champions League group stage in the last position but last week lost to Cadiz on the road as they conceded in the 1st and the last minute. September 2021 was the last time when Atletico lost 3 straight games in all tournaments. The next game was successful as they beat Barcelona. If Diego Simeone wants to keep his job, this is a must-win game.

Espanyol has the most draws in this La Liga season. The team hasn't won 3 straight games but the only win on the road was on September 4th. Overall this season, Atletico has scored 20 goals and allowed 12 while Espanyol has 15 scored goals and 20 conceded. While playing at home, Atletico is expected to score 1.64 goals while Espanyol on the road is expected to score 1.13. Madrid is expected to allow 1.47 goals at home but Espanyol is expected to allow 1.68 goals away from home.

Espanyol is fighting for staying in La Liga as they were only 4 points above the red line last season. It won't be easy for them against Atletico as Espanyol is winless in their last 12 top-flight away contests against La Liga's current TOP 4 with 10 losses and 2 draws. Espanyol has lost 7 of their last 8 away games against teams from Madrid in La Liga. Probably the most important fact is that Espanyol has lost 8 out of the last 10 games at Atletico's home stadium.

It has not been easy to predict Atletico Madrid this season, but this one feels like too big a game for Diego Simeone's men to lose. Their visitors are notoriously poor travelers, aside from 1 shock victory, and should not cause too many problems for Atletico as they look to get back on the winning trail after a tough couple of weeks. Atletico Madrid is the better team on paper and should be able to win this game.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

周日晚上的第一场西甲比赛将在马德里竞技和西班牙人之间进行。马竞以23分并列第3位，西班牙人积11分，排在第16位，另外两支球队也以11分紧随其后。马竞的状态不是最好的，因为他们在过去的3场比赛中都没有赢球。这支球队在欧冠小组赛中排名垫底，但上周在客场输给了加的斯，他们在第1分钟和最后一分钟都丢了球。2021年9月是马竞最后一次在所有赛事中连败3场。接下来的比赛很成功，他们击败了巴塞罗那。如果迭戈·西蒙尼想保住他的工作，这是一场必须赢的比赛。

西班牙人是本赛季西甲平局最多的球队。这支球队还没有取得3连胜，但唯一的客场胜利是在9月4日。本赛季，马竞进了20球丢了12球，西班牙人进了15球丢了20球。在主场比赛中，马竞有望打进1.64球，而西班牙人则有望打进1.13球。皇马预计在主场失球1.47个，西班牙人预计在客场失球1.68个。

西班牙人正在为留在西甲而奋斗，因为他们上赛季只高出了4分。西班牙人在最近12场顶级联赛的客场比赛中都没有赢过马竞，他们的对手目前是西甲前四，10负2平。西班牙人在西甲最近8场客场对阵来自马德里的球队中输了7场。也许最重要的事实是西班牙人在马竞主场的10场比赛中输了8场。

本赛季预测马德里竞技并不容易，但这场比赛对迭戈·西蒙尼的球员来说太重要了，他们不能输。他们的客队是出了名的糟糕旅行者，除了一场惊人的胜利，不应该给马竞造成太多的问题，因为他们希望在艰难的几周后回到胜利的道路上。从纸面上看，马竞是一支更好的球队，应该能够赢得这场比赛。