Real Madrid vs Leganes 02/09/18

02 September 2018

After two straight league victories, Real Madrid will host Leganes at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, looking to retain the first spot on the table. Although it seemed that everything went south in the most successful club in the world since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Los Blancos have sent a strong message to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the opening two games by defeating Getafe and Girona, while scoring six goals in the process. Julen Lopetegui has managed to boost the morale in the dressing room following a disappointing 4-2 defeat to Los Colchoneros in the European Super Cup Final, as he aims to outplay Barcelona in La Liga title chase. On the other hand, Los Pepineros, whose principal objective is to stay in the Spanish top flight for another year, failed to find the right balance in the opening two fixtures, as they lost 2-1 to Athletic Bilbao in the first round, while playing out a 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad after coming back from a two-goal down. Still, Mauricio Pellegrino expects his side can switch gears and step up their game, even against the team that beat them both times last season in La Liga, hoping Leganes can produce the similar performance to the one in Coppa del Rey where they eliminated the Champions League winners thanks to a 2-1 away win.

Jesús Vallejo is yet to return to training and will remain on the stands, while Alexander Szymanowski won’t appear for the visitors due to some health issues.