Real Madrid will be hoping to add to their impressive form since the return of the Spanish La Liga, when they take the trip to Barcelona to play Espanyol on Sunday.
Espanyol are bottom-rocked of the league table and are eight points away from Eibar who occupy the 17th position.
Goals from Vinicius Jr. and Sergio Ramos sealed a comfortable 2-0 victory for Madrid at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium on Wednesday against Real Mallorca.
Out of 31 games played so far this season, Los Periquitos have lost a whopping 17 games and certainly look to be heading for the drop.
They have only won once since the return of the league from four games, while Zinedine Zidane’s team have taken all 12 points from the games played within the same period.
Los Blancos’ individual quality supersedes Espanyol’s and the home side could be heading for a long night without their fans over the weekend.
WHEN AND WHERE?
Venue: RCDE Stadium
Date: Sunday ,June 28
Time: 20:00 (GMT)
FORM GUIDE
Espanyol – 20th (L-W-D-L-L)
The win over Deportivo Alaves is the only victory Abelardo Fernandez side have recorded in their last five games. With six games to go after this weekend, Espanyol will have a lot of work to do if they are to avoid the drop.
Real Madrid – 1st (L-W-W-W-W)
Madrid’s only defeat in their last five games came against Real Betis (1-2) prior to the suspension of the league. Zidane’s side have not looked like slowing down since the league got back underway.
TEAM NEWS
Raul de Tomas’ return from a knee injury should be a morale booster for Espanyol who haven’t been too good in front of goal. The forward who has scored four times in seven appearances since arriving from Benfica will be facing his former side on Sunday.
With Zinedine Zidane taking it slowly with the management of Marco Asensio, the probability of the winger starting is minimal. Nacho Fernandez, Luka Jovic and Lucas Vazquez are ruled out through injuries, while Luka Modric is suspended for card accumulation. Ferland Mendy is also a yellow card away from being suspended.
Casemiro will also be returning from a one match ban after missing the game against Mallorca.
PREDICTED LINEUPS
Espanyol: Diego Lopez; Javi Lopez, Bernardo Espinosa, Leandro Cabrera, Didac Vila; Oscar Melendo, David Lopez, Marc Roca, Sergi Darder; Wu Lei, Raul de Tomas
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo; Fede Valverde, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Rodrygo, Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard
PREDICTION
Espanyol 0-3 Real Madrid
