The 2025-26 edition of La Liga is back in action with another set of matches this weekend as Espanyol lock horns with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid side in an important encounter at the RCDE Stadium on Sunday. The two teams have experienced contrasting fortunes over the past year and will want to win this game.Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid PreviewEspanyol finished in 14th place in the La Liga standings and have struggled to make an impact over the past year. The Catalan outfit played out a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United last week and will need to take it up a notch in this fixture.Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, finished in third place in the league table last season and have not been at their best in recent months. Los Colchoneros eased past Newcastle United by a 2-0 margin in their previous game and will look to achieve a similar result this weekend.Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid Head-to-Head and Key NumbersAtletico Madrid have a good recent record against Espanyol and have won 19 out of the 47 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Espanyol's 14 victories.Espanyol are winless in their last eight matches against Atletico Madrid in La Liga and have played out draws in their last four such games in the competition.Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their last four matches away from home against Espanyol in La Liga - they had lost the two such games preceding this run.Espanyol have not won the opening game of the La Liga campaign in their last seven seasons in the competition, with their previous such victory coming by a 1-0 margin in August 2015.Atletico Madrid are unbeaten in their opening game of the season in their last 15 campaigns in La Liga.Espanyol vs Atletico Madrid PredictionAtletico Madrid have grown in stature under Diego Simeone over the past decade and have a point to prove going into this game. Antoine Griezmann and Julian Alvarez can be lethal on their day and will look to make their mark this weekend.Espanyol have been in poor form in La Liga in recent years and will be up against a formidable opponent on Sunday. Atletico Madrid are the better team at the moment and should be able to win this game.Prediction: Espanyol 1-3 Atletico MadridEspanyol vs Atletico Madrid Betting TipsTip 1: Result - Atletico Madrid to winTip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - YesTip 3: Atletico Madrid to score first - Yes