Atlético Madrid 3 - 2 Espanyol

Atlético Madrid v Espanyol: Preview

Updated: May 9, 2009, 11:12 AM UK

Atletico Madrid have their eyes firmly fixed on securing Champions League football as they prepare to host Espanyol.

Atletico sit one place and one point outside the top four and could find the door wide open if Valencia lose at home to second-placed Real Madrid.

A run of four wins in their last five games has put Atletico within touching distance, and Simao Sabrosa is now calling on his team-mates to put in one big final effort.

"Now it is getting complicated,'' he said. "Espanyol are having a good run, beating Valencia (3-0) last week, and now we have to win.

"But we are depending only on ourselves and that is the best thing. At this moment the most important thing is the three points.

"We can use this weekend to take advantage of the Real Madrid-Valencia match but the main thing is to win or that result doesn't matter.''

Atletico would probably have secured Champions League qualification already had it not been for a poor run of form at the turn of the year, and Simao admits they should not really be in this position.

"We had a good month in December and finished in third, but January was bad,'' he said. "If we had done better then, I think we would be very calm now and already qualified for the Champions League. We have had highs and lows but right now we are on a high.''

Antonio Lopez and Florent Sinama-Pongolle should be fit to play despite knocks but Maniche and Giorgios Seitaridis remain separated from the squad following internal disciplinary action. The pair are unlikely to feature for Atletico again this season.

Although nine places separate them in the table, Espanyol come to town very much in form as five wins from their last six - including the last four straight - look to have rescued them from almost certain relegation.

One more win should do the trick but they are not completely out of the woods yet, sitting four points above the drop zone with four games left.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino is eager to keep his squad focused on the task in hand.

"We know that mathematically there are still many points left to play for,'' he said. "We must keep doing what we are doing and not change.''

Pochettino insists he did not panic when his side were in the bottom three and, in the same vein, he is not getting carried away by their recent run.

"I try to maintain a balance in everything I do,'' he said. "I didn't look at the standings before and I'm not doing so now. Nothing can distract us and we shouldn't think about anything but playing our game.''

Full-backs David Garcia and Steve Finnan both miss out through injury but Pochettino should have an otherwise full-strength squad to choose from.