Two of La Liga’s unbeaten teams meet, as Real Madrid face off against Espanyol looking to preserve their perfect start to the season.
Match News and Current Form
Red cards in successive matches have provided the only real wobble in Real Madrid’s impressive start to life under Xabi Alonso (W10, D1, L1) under whom they’ve also won each of their four league matches this season. They even managed to win both games in which they saw those reds, dispatching Real Sociedad 2-1 in league action before defeating Marseille by the same scoreline in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. It’s hard to make many arguments against them making it a hat-trick of wins in the space of almost a week given they’ve won nine of their last ten home league games (L1).
Espanyol have also made a dream start to their domestic campaign, going unbeaten across their opening four La Liga games for the first time since the 2013/14 season. That is an unexpected start for a side that only narrowly avoided relegation last season, with Manolo González looking to lead his Espanyol to six straight unbeaten top-flight games for the first time since a run of nine games between April and May 2019. Having not won any of their last five La Liga matches on their travels though (D2 L3), the standard of the opposition might be a concern here.
Head-to-Head History
The visitors won the last H2H by a 1-0 scoreline, but that was the only time they’ve beaten Real Madrid in the last five meetings (L4). They have also not won an away fixture against the Spanish giants since April 1996!
Hot Stats and Streaks
Real Madrid haven’t lost in the opening five games of a league campaign since the 2020/21 season.
Real Madrid have racked up five red cards from their last ten games in all competitions.
Espanyol have scored from the penalty spot in three of their last five La Liga games.
Ahead of the round, only Barcelona (13) have scored more La Liga goals this season than Espanyol (eight).
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Kylian Mbappé grabbed his 50th Real Madrid goal last time out, also marking his tenth goal contribution (G8, A2) from his last seven outings for club and country. Defender Carlos Romero has been an unlikely hero for Espanyol in recent weeks, grabbing a goal and assist across his last two games, having also struck in his side’s H2H victory in the last meeting between the sides.
Real Madrid will be without Trent Alexander-Arnold who limped off in midweek, while Jude Bellingham is closing in on a return from a shoulder injury. Espanyol’s Javi Hernández missed the win over Mallorca due to a foot problem.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Los Blancos' strength at home means backing a Real Madrid win with Mbappé scoring a hat-trick could be a tempting long shot.
Author: Luke Bridle