Real Madrid travel to Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday as they look to maintain their fine start to the season. The champions have a 100% record at the moment and should be too strong for Espanyol, who are in search of their first win of the season.
Having secured a 14th place finish on their return to La Liga last season, Espanyol are aiming to kick on this term and possibly push for a place in the top half.
Espanyol began their campaign with a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo with a late penalty from Joselu earning them a share of the spoils. They followed that up with a 2-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano in their previous La Liga fixture.
The Catalans endured a similar difficult start last season as did not claim their first win until week six.
The result against Rayo Vallecano also extends a recent problem for Diego Martinez’s men, who are now winless in their last four home matches in La Liga stretching back to last season.
Real Madrid have made a much better start to the campaign and have won their two league matches so far.
Los Blancos began their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Super Cup. They followed that up by winning their opening two La Liga fixtures, claiming a 4-1 victory over Celta Vigo in their previous outing.
The result at Celta Vigo maintains an impressive run from Real Madrid on their recent travels. Carlo Ancelotti’s men have suffered just one defeat in their last 10 La Liga matches on the road, claiming seven wins in that run.
How the bookies view it
Real Madrid are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 9/20 by bet365 to claim the win. A victory for Espanyol is valued at 31/5 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 18/5 by William Hill.
Recent head to head
Real Madrid have the upper hand in recent meetings with Espanyol, claiming five wins from the last six matches. However, the Catalans only win in that run was a 2-1 victory at the RCDE Stadium last season.
Players to watch
Last season’s top scorer Raul de Tomas remains sidelined with injury so Joselu will be the one to watch for Espanyol. The striker was on target in the opening fixture and is priced at 29/10 by Unibet to find the net on Sunday.
Karim Benzema is finally off the mark for Real Madrid this season after netting the opener last time out at Celta Vigo. The striker has also scored five times in his last five matches against Espanyol and is priced at 4/5 by Paddy Power to get on the score sheet on Sunday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Real Madrid’s recent wins over Espanyol have been one-sided which means they could be backed in the -1 handicap market at 6/5 with Coral. They also scored in both halves last time out at Celta Vigo and could be set for a repeat at 6/5 with BoyleSports.
There were over 3.5 goals in Real Madrid’s last fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 6/4 by William Hill.
This La Liga match between Espanyol and Real Madrid will be played on Aug 28, 2022 and kick off at 21:00. Check below for our tipsters best Espanyol vs Real Madrid prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
