Reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid seek their third consecutive victory when they welcome a resurgent Espanyol to the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday evening.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid (3-2-0) currently sit third in the table with 11 points from five matches. They enter the fixture on the back of a 3-1 Champions League victory over Stuttgart midweek, where 18-year-old Endrick became the club’s youngest-ever Champions League goalscorer.
Espanyol (2-1-2), who returned to La Liga via playoffs last season, arrive in good form after back-to-back league wins. Javi Puado’s hat-trick propelled them to a 3-2 victory over Alaves last weekend, lifting them to 12th in the standings.
Real Madrid will be without injured players Brahim Diaz, Dani Ceballos, Eduardo Camavinga, and David Alaba. However, Jude Bellingham is expected to start after returning from injury against Stuttgart.
Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez is likely to field an unchanged lineup from their win over Alaves, with Puado leading the attack alongside on-loan Tottenham forward Alejo Veliz.
Real Madrid have won their last three league encounters with Espanyol, including a 3-1 home victory last season. The visitors haven’t won at the Bernabéu in La Liga since April 1996.
Despite Espanyol’s recent form, Real Madrid’s home advantage and superior firepower make them favorites. The match kicks off at 20:00 local time (CEST) on Saturday.
Predicted lineups:
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
Espanyol (4-4-2): J. Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Tejero, Kral, Aguado, Carreras; Puado, Veliz
