Mundo Deportivo believes Kike García and Terrats will start against Atlético

RCD Espanyol

RCD Espanyol continues preparing for its visit to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday at 21:00. The team is sixth despite still not winning in 2026, with a recent record of five losses and two draws.

Infirmary; Calero likely out

Thursday's session at the Dani Jarque Sports City once again featured the already known absence of Javi Puado, captain and out for the rest of the season. In addition, Fernando Calero also draws attention: for the second day in a row he did not appear in the training footage released by the club.

If Calero doesn't make it, logic points to Riedel repeating alongside Lele Cabrera in the central defense, while doubts shift to midfield and especially the forward line. In this scenario, RCD Espanyol keeps several combinations open for the starting eleven.

The precedent against Celta and alternatives for the eleven

In the last match, against Celta, Manolo introduced changes with the alternative to Charles Pickel and the first start as a blanquiazul for Cyril Ngonge. The response came from the bench: Urko González de Zárate stopped the problems in midfield, Kike García equalized with a well-crafted goal, and Tyrhys Dolan, after linking up with Ramon Terrats — last substitution, in the 83' — scored the 86' goal making it 2-1.

With these precedents, it would not be surprising if several of them started against Atlético de Madrid, a rival Espanyol already defeated in the first leg (2-1): Urko replacing Pickel; Kike replacing Roberto Fernández; Dolan replacing Ngonge; and Terrats replacing Edu Expósito or Pere Milla, who have declined in recent matches.