Espanyol – Real Madrid

Espanyol will focus on defensive actions in the match against Real Madrid

On Sunday 28 August, Espanyol play at home against Real Madrid. The teams are at different poles in the standings. Madrid have picked up two win in the opening rounds. Espanyol, on the other hand, only picked up a point, although they had a very good calendar. The Catalans can take credit for the first meeting. Espanyol showed character and snatched an away draw against Celta. The second leg followed a strange scenario. Espanyol quickly took a numerical advantage thanks to a penalty from Rayo Vallecano. Gomez also played roughly against his opponent, resulting in the teams playing almost a full game with ten men. Espanyol were significantly weaker. In terms of chances, the Catalans conceded to the modest Rayo. New coach Diego Martinez has had a poor start so far. The third round is likely to exacerbate the results. Real Madrid are not yet indestructible by La Liga standards. At the same time, a huge margin of individual skill helps. Ancelotti's side have scored six points in difficult away fixtures. First, they showed their character against Almeria. The victory over the newcomer to the Spanish championship was very difficult. Then, in a spectacular game against open-air Celta, the team showed their best qualities. Importantly, it was the first match without Casemiro. The Brazilian's absence had no impact in the short run, but such a weakened squad could have an impact on the championship race going forward. Real Madrid could not count on Toni Kroos in Vigo either. He is now also on the injured list, along with veteran Nacho Fernandez. Thus, Real Madrid will continue to experiment in their midfield. The trio of Modrić with Kamawinga and Chouameni is very likely. Espanyol coach Diego Martinez has been accustomed to quality defensive football since Granada. The Catalans will try to play to their coach's best ideas. It is worth expecting a closed-down model. Real Madrid will have to look for sophisticated positional attacking moves without their two key midfield performers. Madrid remain favourites, but there are questions about the total. Espanyol will be tasked with drying out the visitors as much as possible. That is, there should be a minimum of chances. The Catalan attack has significantly reduced its potential without top scorer Raul De Tomas. The striker has not played in the new season, and is openly waiting for a transfer. In Spain they are already writing about the conflict between the coach and the player. In other words, his exit against Madrid is unlikely. And that means that there will also be far fewer threats to Real's goal. It would be logical to assume a less productive course of action in such circumstances.