Atletico Madrid will be looking to return to winning ways when they welcome Espanyol to the Vicente Calderon in this weekend's La Liga clash. Athletico drew 0-0 with Recreativo Huelva last time around and they will want to register a comprehensive win over Espanyol if they are to maintain pressure on Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Athletico have had a fantastic start to the season and have lost only once in their last nine outings. However the draw against Recreativo will have hurt the team in terms of valuable points because Barcelona and Real Madrid won their respective games. Javier Aguirre`s men have shown great form and have also qualified for the UEFA Cup knockout stages.

Maniche should return to the side, but they will be missing the services of Franco, who sustained a torn quadriceps muscle in the game against Real Betis. He is expected to be out for at least three months. Seitaridis is also out for at least 6 weeks after surgery on his Achilles tendon. Athletico Madrid are third on the La Liga table with 31 points from 16 games.

Espanyol on the other hand have also enjoyed a great season so far. In their last game a Daniel Jarque goal was enough to trash bottom placed Levante. Ernesto Valverde's side has enjoyed an unbeaten run in their last 11 games.

Rufete and Ivan De La Pena have returned from injury and that will be a boost for the squad. Riera and Luis Garcia could be back after missing their last game.

Espanyol are fifth on the La Liga table with 30 points from 16 games. Last season this fixture ended in a 2-1 win for the visitors. Watch Athletico Madrid v Espanyol Live on free-football.tv.