Espanyol vs Real Madrid

Defending La Liga champions Real Madrid travel to the RCDE Stadium to take on out-of-form Espanyol in a seemingly winnable league task.

Espanyol hauled back a 2-0 deficit to hold Celta Vigo to a 2-2 draw on the opening weekend but slumped at home to Rayo Vallecano the following week, falling to a dismal 2-0 defeat. An embarrassing start to the season has stretched Espanyol’s wait for a top-flight win to nine matches (D4, L5), their longest winless run in La Liga since September 2021. With star striker Raul de Tomas ruled out with injury, the hosts’ hopes of recording back-to-back home league wins over Madrid for the first time since 2005 look far-fetched. Without their standout forward, Diego Martinez’s men have won none of their six La Liga outings since the start of last season (D2, L4). On top of that, ‘Los Periquitos’ have picked up a measly two victories from their previous 27 top-flight H2Hs (D3, L22).

As for Real Madrid, after coming from behind to pull off a 2-1 win at newly-promoted Almeria on matchday one, ‘Los Blancos’ cruised to an overwhelming 4-1 triumph at Celta Vigo last time out. Madrid’s 100% start to the new club season includes a scintillating 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup showpiece. Despite the visitors’ stellar form, manager Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to tighten up his team’s backline after seeing them go seven consecutive La Liga away matches without a clean sheet. All eyes will be on Karim Benzema, who has tallied five goals and two assists in his last seven La Liga appearances against Espanyol.