Espanyol striker Christian Stuani has warned his teammates they must match Atletico Madrid in intensity this weekend.
The Catalans visit the Vicente Calderon on Sunday for a midday kick-off and Stuani believes they must concentrate to the maximum if they are to take anything from the game.
“If we don’t equal them in intensity then we’ve no chance because they play at 1000km-an-hour.
“We will be facing a very, very tough opponent, one that is strong at home and rarely drops any points there. They will be very hard to beat and we must concentrate fully.
“This week we’ve worked hard to be physically strong for this game,” revealed the Uruguay international at a Press conference.
One of the keys to the game, according to Stuani, will be how each side deals with dead-ball situations.
“There are games that can be defined by these small details. If we are strong at set-pieces we have a good opportunity of beating them, although I’ve not been able to do that at their ground since I’ve been in La Liga, which is an extra motivation.
“This is one of the most difficult places to come to, somewhere legendary, and it’ll be a hard ask to win.
“However, we are in a good run of form and can cause an upset,” he insisted.