Seeking a 16th La Liga victory of the 2024-25 campaign, reigning champions Real Madrid will head to struggling Espanyol on Saturday night, with both teams in need of the points for very different reasons.
Real Madrid are top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid on the same number of matches (21), while Espanyol are 18th in the division, one point from the safety of 17th position.
Match preview
© Imago
Espanyol boast a record of five wins, five draws and 11 defeats from their 21 league matches this season, with 20 points leaving them in 18th spot in the division, one point behind 17th-placed Alaves in the battle to stay in the division.
The Catalan outfit secured a return to La Liga through last season's Segunda Division playoffs, so any spot over 18th would be considered to be a successful campaign, but they are firmly locked in a relegation battle at this stage of the season.
Periquitos have actually only been beaten in one of their last six league matches, but they have also won just once during that period, which came at home to fellow strugglers Real Valladolid in their last home match.
Manolo Gonzalez's side drew 1-1 with Sevilla last time out, and they are unbeaten in front of their own fans in La Liga since the end of October, which is a record that should hand them confidence ahead of this match.
Espanyol have lost each of their last four league matches against Real Madrid, including a 4-1 defeat in the reverse clash earlier this season, but the Catalan side have a recent home success over Los Blancos to their name - a 2-1 victory in October 2021.
© Iconsport
Real Madrid were in France on Wednesday evening, recording a 3-0 victory over Brest in their final match in the league phase of the Champions League, and they now need to win a playoff to be present in the next round of the competition.
Carlo Ancelotti's side were also 3-0 winners over Real Valladolid in La Liga last weekend, which made it 49 points from their 21 league matches this season courtesy of a record of 15 wins, four draws and two defeats.
Los Blancos are top of the division, four points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, while they are seven points clear of third-placed Barcelona, which is a healthy lead at this stage of the campaign.
Real Madrid will bring a five-game winning run into this contest, scoring 20 times in the process, and it is a busy period of the campaign for the club, as they also have a Copa del Rey quarter-final to come against Leganes on February 5.
The capital giants have the second-best away record in La Liga this season, picking up 22 points from 11 matches, recording six wins in the process, but Espanyol's recent home record could make this a tricky affair for the reigning champions.
Team News
© Imago
Espanyol will once again be without the services of Salvi Sanchez and Jose Gragera through injury, while Brian Olivan is a major doubt after being forced off in the early stages of the clash with Sevilla last time out.
Head coach Gonzalez is expected to name the majority of the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Sevilla, but Carlos Romero is likely to be introduced at left-back due to Olivan's injury issue.
Roberto Fernandez is a new arrival at the club, joining on loan from Braga for the rest of the campaign, and the Spaniard is again expected to operate in the final third of the field alongside Javi Puado.
As for Real Madrid, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal remain unavailable for selection due to long-term injuries, but there is a chance that Eduardo Camavinga could overcome a muscular problem to return to the squad.
Vinicius Junior is also back, with the Brazilian serving another suspension against Brest in the Champions League, and he is set to return to the left of the front three, with Rodrygo, who netted twice against Brest, moving across to the right.
Raul Asencio could return in the middle of the defence, with Aurelien Tchouameni moving into central midfield, as David Alaba is still not being considered for starts, having missed more than a year of action due to a serious knee injury.
Espanyol possible starting lineup:
J Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Carreras, Kral, Lozano, Tejero; Puado, Fernandez
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Mendy; Valverde, Tchouameni, Bellingham; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius
We say: Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid
Espanyol are capable of making this a tricky encounter for Real Madrid, and we are expecting the Catalan side to get their name on the scoresheet on Saturday. However, Los Blancos should have enough quality to navigate their way to a vital three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
