The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano last Friday, while Real Madrid thrashed Celta Vigo 4-1 two days later.
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Espanyol will host Real Madrid in a La Liga fixture at Cornell El-Pratt on Sunday night. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Rayo Vallecano last Friday, while Real Madrid thrashed Celta Vigo 4-1 two days later. With two wins from as many games, Los Blancos have made a perfect start to their title-defence and are occupying third place in the standings with six points. Espanyol, on the other hand, are sitting at the 16th spot with just one point.
? ¡DÍA DE PARTIDO! ?
? @RCDEspanyol
? RCDE Stadium
⏰ 22:00 CEST
#⃣ #EspanyolRealMadrid pic.twitter.com/9FNUDAo7An— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) August 28, 2022
Espanyol kicked off their campaign with a dramatic 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo, that saw the White and Blue come from behind and snatch a last-ditch equaliser to earn a point away from home. However, in their recent outing against Rayo Vallecano, Diego Martinez’ side suffered a 2-0 loss courtesy of goals from Isi Palazon and Pathe Ciss. Espanyol have a tough run of matches to come facing Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Valencia in their next five.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, began their 2022-23 La Liga season with a come from behind 2-1 win at Almeria on August 14 before thrashing Celta Vigo a week later. Iago Aspas canceled out Karim Benzema’s opener before Luka Modric, Vinicius Jr, and Federico Valverde netted for the Los Blancos to secure all three points. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will take on Espanyol and Real Betis in their next two before the start of their Champions League title-defence away to Celtic on September 7.
Read more: Barcelona vs Real Valladolid: La Liga Live Stream, Schedule, Fixture and Probable Lineups
Espanyol boss Martcinez has a number of fitness issues as the likes of Pol Lozano, Raul de Tomas and Adria Pedrosa are all doubtful for Sunday’s game. Meanwhile midfielder Sergi Gomez is unavailable because of the red card he received in their previous outing. Joselu is likely to lead the line with Ruben Sanchez and Nico Melamed in support. As for Real Madrid, defender Nacho has a muscular issue and is doubtful for the weekend fixture. Benzema, Vinicius and Valverde could form the front-three with Modric and Kroos pulling the strings in the midfield.
Espanyol probable starting lineup: Lecomte, Gil, Calero, Cabrera, Olivan, Darder, Exposito, Souza, R Sanchez, Joselu, Melamed
Real Madrid probable starting lineup: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Kroos, Tchouameni, Modric, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius
The La Liga match between Espanyol and Real Madrid will take place at Cornell El-Pratt on Monday at 1:30 am IST.
| Espanyol vs Real Madrid | Key details |
| Date | August 28 (Spain) |
| Venue | Cornell El-Pratt |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 10:00 pm (Sunday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Monday) |
The live coverage of the match will be available on Sports18 network, Voot Select and MTV India.
