Real Madrid will look to extend its La Liga unbeaten streak to 38 games as the reigning Spanish champions take on Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Real Madrid’s return to domestic action comes just four days after a late-game comeback against Stuttgart in its Champions League opening fixture. Los Blancos collected all three points in a 3–1victory thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé, Antonio Rüdiger and Endrick.
Now, Real Madrid must turn its attention back to La Liga where Ancelotti’s men already trail Barcelona by four points after five fixtures. Hansi Flick has the Catalans off to a perfect start in his first season in charge while Real Madrid stumbled in early matches against Mallorca and Las Palmas.
The 36-time La Liga champions found victories in all their September matches so far, though, despite an injury crisis that left Federico Valverde forced to play in a double pivot alongside Luka Modric last weekend. The return of Jude Bellingham and Aurélien Tchouaméni against Stuttgart gave Real Madrid a much-needed boost ahead of a busy schedule featuring six matches over the next three weeks.
Before Los Blancos can look ahead to the Madrid derby or their next Champions League match, they must get past Espanyol on Saturday. Manolo Gonzalez’s side produced an impressive scoreless draw with Atletico Madrid and then went on to defeat Rayo Vallecano and Alaves.
Although the hosts still enter the fixture as the heavy favorites, Real Madrid has struggled to score from open play against a low block; four of Los Blancos’ nine La Liga goals this season have come from the spot. Plus, Ancelotti will likely rotate his starting XI to give recently returned players like Bellingham and Tchouaméni a rest to avoid overload. The Frenchman, in particular, was reportedly still dealing with discomfort in his foot during the mid-week UCL fixture.
Luka Modrić and Arda Güler could get the nod as Ancelotti works to keep his squad fit and fresh just one week out from Real Madrid’s clash with Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid's predicted lineup vs Espanyol: Courtois; Carvajal, Militão, Rüdiger, Mendy; Valverde,
Modrić, Güler; Rodrygo, Mbappé, Vinícius
If Ancelotti really wants to rotate his XI, then Endrick, Fran García and Lucas Vázquez could also log significant minutes against Espanyol.
Real Madrid vs Espanyol kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. ET.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Real Madrid vs. Espanyol Match Preview – Sept. 22, 2024.