Espanyol vs. Real Madrid – Spanish La Liga Match Preview
Espanyol will be hosting Real Madrid at Cornella El Prat on Sunday.
Espanyol are currently at the tenth position in La Liga. On the other hand, Real Madrid are resting at the fifth position on the points table.
It is going to be a difficult fixture for Jose Mourinho’s men. Last season, Real Madrid won this away fixture with only a single goal. However, Los Blancos look to be stronger this season while on the other hand, Espanyol are still not at their personal
best.
Espanyol have picked up two wins in the last five La Liga fixtures. Both the wins came from home games which they played against Athletic Bilbao and Getafe. Their away form has been shaky this season and currently they have won only six points from the last
five fixtures.
In contrast, Real Madrid are currently fifth in La Liga.
Jose Mourinho’s men won their midweek fixture against Ajax at the Santiago Bernabeu. Jose Mourinho’s men were involved in European action and they were able to win the game 3-0 at home.
Real Madrid’s last La Liga fixture was against the newly promoted side Rayo Vallecano. Madrid won the match 6-2 at Santiago Bernabeu. However, they drew against Racing Santander while being away from home and furthermore, they lost the away game to Levante.
Team News: Espanyol
Espanyol are an above average side in La Liga at the moment. Their away form is not so good but http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mauricio-c24899 Pochettino is going to try his best to pick up at least a point from this difficult home fixture.
Espanyol will be without Pandiani and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jordi-Amat-c19112 as both the players were shown a red card in their last away game against Levante.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rui-Fonte-c31900, Verdu and Romaric are expected to play for the Catalan club.
Team News: Real Madrid
Jose Mourinho has gained back the confidence which was required by the team. Real Madrid lost a few precious points against Levante and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Racing-c40298 Santander. However, after the 6-2 home win against Rayo Vallecano, Madrid are back on track.
This away fixture is going to be difficult for Madrid. They could only score one goal in Catalonia last season.
Madrid have just played a game in the midweek but a win is necessary in this La Liga game. Jose Mourinho is going to feature his strongest side against Espanyol.
Madrid are still without the injured Fabio Coentrao and Pepe. Both the Portuguese players will not be playing in this away game.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-c29670’s position will be taken by the young centre back Raphael Varane. The 19 year old defender has shown that he is capable of playing in the centre back position for a big club like Madrid.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-c13152 Coentrao, despite being a left back, plays as a holding midfielder. With Sami Khedira coming back into the first team, Coentrao’s position will be guarded by the German midfielder.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 are expected to feature for the Spanish giants.
Predictions:
Madrid are going to try and win the game while Espanyol might just “park the bus” like all the other teams do against Los Blancos. The expected result is 1-4 in favour of Madrid.
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