5 bold La Liga predictions: Real Madrid drop points against Espanyol

3. Atletico continue their poor form

Atletico Madrid opened their Champions League campaign with an away win against Monaco in midweek, but they’ve started the season slowly, which is becoming a worrying trend for Atleti fans. They’re already seven points behind Barcelona, who only dropped 21 points in the whole of last season, which shows the scale of the task at hand.

The summer transfer business was exciting for Atletico. They brought in gifted attackers such as Gelson Martins and Thomas Lemar, while also bolstering key areas with players such as Rodri and Nikola Kalinic. Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa form a fearsome partnership up front, but the natural attacking flair of these players is confined within Diego Simeone’s rigid defensive structures.

His methods have brought remarkable success considering the financial limitations and the depth of wealth their main domestic rivals have, but they still approach games as the underdog rather than seeking to dominate and dismantle opponents. Lemar and Rodri are the only signings to regularly feature so far, as Simeone has stuck with players he knows and seemingly doesn’t want to take risks. Players such as Martins may not have fully adjusted, but he would certainly give defences major problems if he was unleashed as a late substitute.

Their next match is a trip to Getafe, who have carried on from where they left off last season. They’re a well-organized side that’s tough to break down. In four games, they’ve conceded only two goals and they came against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. They’ve also faced Sevilla away from home, a match they won 2-0. A struggling Atletico attack against a stingy defense seems like a recipe for a draw.