Fernando Torres will start up front for Atletico Madrid as they look to close the gap on leaders Barcelona with a win against Espanyol.

The ex-Chelsea forward is given the nod by coach Diego Simeone as top-scorer Mario Mandzukic is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card of the season in the 1-1 draw with Valencia.

Arda Turan is available again for Atleti after returning against Los Che, but the Turkish attacker must make do with a place among the substitutes.

Christian Stuani's reward for his lack of a goal since February is a place on the bench, with Sergio Garcia and Felipe Caicedo given the task of leading the Espanyol front line.

Jose Canas is named on the bench for the Catalan outfit as he continues his recovery from a hamstring problem, but defender Juan Fuentes is left out of the matchday squad after failing to shrug off an injury.

Espanyol: Casilla, Alvaro, Arbilla, Duarte, Sanchez Gonzalez, Lopez, Lucas, Sergio Garcia, Caicedo

Atletico Madrid: Moya, Godin, Gamez, Juanfran, Miranda, Tiago, Koke, Raul Garcia, Gabi, Griezmann, Torres

Follow the game with Sports Mole's live text commentary.

Written by
Chris O'Keefe