The good news for Real Madrid, ahead of tomorrow night’s La Liga fixture versus Espanyol, is that they have not lost so far this season. The bad news is that two of those results were draws, not wins. And Hence they’re not sitting top of the table, or even second, right now. They’re third, which is suboptimal, but still no cause for major panic right now. So the Madridistas can all calm down.
And with that all in mind, let’s preview this one.
Espanyol at Real Madrid FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Sept. 21, 9pm, El Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
LL Position, Form: Real Madrid 3rd, 11 pts, DWDWW Espanyol 12th, 7 pts, LLDWW
Google Result Probability: Real Madrid 84% Draw 11% Espanyol 5%
Team News vs Espanyol
Nothing has really changed here, on this front. Eduardo Camavinga (knee), Dani Ceballos (ankle sprain), Brahmin Diaz (hamstring) and David Alaba (torn cruciate ligament) all remain out for the longer-term. So with that all settled, let’s just move on to starting lineup prediction.
Real Madrid Starting XI Prediction vs Espanyol
Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Antonio Rudiger, Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde, Luka Modric; Rodrygo, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior; Kylian Mbappe
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.