Spanish La Liga Odds – Atletico Madrid vs Espanyol

In the eighth fixture of Spain’s La Liga, Atletico Madrid hosts Espanyol looking for their fifth win of the season (Sunday, October 19, at the Vicente Calderón Stadium at 6:00 a.m. Eastern).

On paper, beating Espanyol represents no challenge for the “Colchoneros“; they have won more games against Espanyol than any other side in their history (75) and are coming into the game on a hot-streak having won four of their last five matches.  Diego Simeone’s Atletico squad is the heavy favorite to win, listed at -300 in the moneyline; Espanyol is +850 to pull the upset, and the draw is listed at +375.

One factor the oddsmakers likely held against Espanyol is their poor play away from home. They are winless in their last seven away league matches (2D, 5L), which is their worst streak since 2012.

Atletico will rely heavily on Koke, again.  The “Rojiblancos” midfielder is having a tremendous season, and nobody has played more minutes in La Liga. Koke has played 630 minutes or, in other words, every minute of Atletico’s seven fixtures. Indeed, combining, Champions League and La Liga,  he’s played 1,337 minutes in 15 games, missing just 13 minutes in the 2014/15 season so far.

Atletico comes into the game sitting in fifth place in the league table with 14 points (4W, 2D, 1L) and a +5 goal difference. On the other side, Espanyol is in eighth place with nine points (2W, 3D, 2L) and a +1 differential.