Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid will be looking to secure their third consecutive league win when they host an in-form Espanyol at the Bernabeu on Saturday. Los Blancos have collected 11 points from their first five league matches, positioning them third in the table, while Espanyol, who have won their last two games, are currently 12th with seven points.
Real Madrid vs Espanyol: Preview
Despite not hitting their peak yet, Real Madrid’s start to the season has been solid, with three wins and two draws. They sit four points behind league leaders Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti’s team began the season with a draw against Mallorca, followed by a 3-0 win over Real Valladolid.
However, they were then held to a draw by Las Palmas, where Kylian Mbappe failed to score in his first three league games for the club. Since then, Real Madrid has registered back-to-back 2-0 victories over Real Betis and Real Sociedad, along with a 3-1 Champions League win against Stuttgart midweek.
Match Details
- Match: Espanyol @ Real Madrid
- Date & Time: Sep 21, 2024 at 8 pm UK
- Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid vs Espanyol: Team News & Head-to-Head
Real Madrid
Real Madrid’s next league fixtures include matches against Espanyol, Alaves, and Atletico Madrid before their second Champions League game against Lille in early October. For this match, the Los Blancos will be missing Brahim Diaz, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga, and David Alaba due to injuries, while Bellingham is expected to start after returning to action midweek.
Off the pitch, there have been rumors of discord among Real Madrid’s attacking players, but Jude Bellingham has dismissed such claims.
Espanyol
Espanyol has struggled defensively at the Bernabeu in recent seasons, conceding seven goals in their last two visits. Additionally, all of their last seven league wins over Real Madrid have come at home. After a difficult start, with losses to Real Valladolid and Real Sociedad, they have bounced back, securing a draw against Atletico and winning their last two matches, including a 3-2 victory over Alaves, where Javi Puado netted a hat-trick.
Espanyol head coach Manolo Gonzalez is likely to field the same starting XI from their win over Alaves, including Puado and on-loan Tottenham forward Alejo Veliz. Injuries will keep Fernando Calero and Edu Exposito out of the squad.
Head-to-Head
Historically, they have dominated Espanyol, winning their last three La Liga encounters, including a 3-1 victory at the Bernabeu last season. Espanyol haven’t won away at Real Madrid since 1996, highlighting the tough challenge they face.
Possible Starting XI
Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Espanyol: J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Tejero, Kral, Aguado, Carreras; Puado, Veliz
Real Madrid vs Espanyol: Prediction
Real Madrid enters this battle as the clear favorite to win. It is going to be very hard and tiring for Espanyol to keep hold of such quality players as Madrid has. Espanyol maybe can just try to be solid defensively and hit on the counter-attacks.
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