Spanyol faces Madrid in great form after a great display against Celta, where Ancelotti’s men beat Coudet’s guys 1-4. It was the first game without Casemiro on the team. It was the moment for Aurélien Tchouameni to step up and fill in some big shoes, and the Frenchman did so. His performance was solid all around and made all Madrid fans feel slightly better. The true star of the game was 36-year-old Luka Modric, who scored the opening goal and gave an assist to team phenom Vinicius Jr. The Croatian was too much for Celta. He was all over the pitch controlling the tempo and dictating when and where the game was played.
For Espanyol, the team from the other side of Barcelona comes to this game after losing to Rayo Vallecano 0-2. Diego Martinez has a difficult task at hand, Real Madrid is in good form, and the team is still without star striker Raul De Tomas, who is waiting on a possible exit from the team. Espanyol host reigning La Liga champions Real Madrid in the Spanish top flight on Sunday night. The second side of Catalonia needed a 98th-minute penalty to earn their only point of the season thus far, denying Celta Vigo at the death in the opening game of the campaign. Real Madrid romped past the Galicians 4-1 last weekend, recording a second successive win to start the defence of their league title.
Here’s everything you need to know about the meeting between this pair. Diego Martinez will have to do without Sergi Gomez while the centre-back serves his suspension for a straight red card. Pol Lozano may have to wait another week to make his first appearance of the season as he continues to nurse a knock. Adria Pedrosa underwent surgery on his sports hernia at the start of the week. The 24-year-old left-back is expected to be out for as many as seven weeks. Toni Kroos missed Madrid’s trip to Vigo last Saturday with the flu but has since returned to training along with the Brazilian winger Rodrygo. Nacho Fernandez and Alvaro Odriozola have both been training away from the main group while they recover from muscle complaints.
Real Madrid go to Espanyol on Sunday for Matchday 3 in La Liga with a chance to go the top of the table. Los Blancos are 2-0-0 to start the campaign, averaging three goals a game. Meanwhile, Espanyol are in 17th place with one draw and one loss through their first two contests. They currently are out of the relegation zone due to a superior goal difference. Espanyol: The hosts failed to score in their last match, a 2-0 loss at home to Rayo Vallecano, putting just one of their 13 shots on frame. But it was a Sergi Gomez red card 30 minutes in that put their backs against the wall. A more composed start will be needed here, and they must prioritize defending. As a team that could be in the relegation battle, any point against a top side feels like a win. They’ll need to make it ugly to have a chance.
The distinction was awarded to Kroos following a poll conducted by the German Football Federation, per Marca. If a confident Kroos is allowed time and space in possession, Madrid will own the ball and pull the Espanyol defence apart. Obviously, that’s something Gonzalez’s team will try and guard against. Midfield bruiser Jose Canas will need to be particularly destructive. Up front, the pace of powerhouse striker Felipe Caicedo and the invention of creative forward Sergio Garcia will need to combine to engineer opportunities on the counter. Gonzalez is wisely playing his cards close to his chest. He’s refused to confirm whether his team will go on the attack or sit back and stifle, instead leaving both options open, per Inside Spanish Football writer Heath Chesters.
Real Madrid’s stunning La Liga form this season suffered a minor blip when Carlo Ancelotti’s pace-setting squad tasted defeat in Valencia. Now Catalan club Espanyol could be the unfortunate target for Madrid’s wrath. Manager Sergio Gonzalez’s team slipped to a very disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Eibar last time out in La Liga action. But Espanyol are still sitting solid at 10th. Yet Gonzalez will be wary about the damage a Madrid side with a point to prove could inflict. Ancelotti’s table-toppers still lead the way in Spain’s top flight. But with their lead now reduced to a mere one point over Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Los Blancos can’t afford another slip. It’s been a surprisingly tough week for Los Merengues. Not only did they fall 2-1 to Valencia, they also suffered a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie with hated neighbours Atletico.
Ancelotti has swatted away claims Madrid are struggling.Paul White/Associated Press Ancelotti’s bravado is warranted. However, it ought to concern the cerebral coach that his star-studded team has found the net just once in two games. That’s not like Ancelotti’s version of Los Blancos. A forward line featuring players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale has found goals easy to come by this season. The latter was criticised after the cup humbling, but Ancelotti insisted the problem was deeper than Bale, per another report from Sky Sports: “I am happy with the way that Bale is playing and he was not at fault for the (Atletico) defeat. The problems were caused by the opposition and generally we didn’t have many chances. The lack of creativity referenced by the Italian coach is a surprise. Ancelotti started pass-master Toni Kroos and clever advanced schemers Isco and James Rodriguez in the cup.
