Real Madrid vs Espanyol Match Analysis and Prediction

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Real Madrid continue their advancement towards the La Liga title on Saturday at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu against Espanyol, who are aiming to finish the season on a high.

The hosts are currently sitting 15 points clear of second-placed Barcelona at the top of the La Liga standings.

Los Blancos enter Saturday’s encounter fresh off the back of a 4-3 defeat at the hand of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.

Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva all got on the scoresheet for the Citizens, while Karim Benzema’s brace and Vinicius Junior’s goal made it three for the visitors.

Real Madrid now turn their attention to La Liga, where they won their last league game 3-1 at Estadio El Sadar against Osasuna, extending their winning streak to four matches. After Barcelona faltering last time out in the league against Rayo Vallecano, Real are on the verge of securing the title.

In the last La Liga meeting between the sides, Espanyol won 2-1 at RCDE Stadium in October. Raul de Tomas scored the opener for los Periquitos in the 17th minute and Aleix Vidal also found the back of the net. Karim Benzema scored the only goal for los Blancos in the 71st minute.

Espanyol suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Rayo Vallecano in their last league match, leaving them in 13th spot on 39 points. They have scored 37 goals and conceded 45 through 33 matches.

Vicente Moreno’s side will seek to address a poor run of results on their travels this season with five draws, 10 losses and just one win in league away matches. Los Periquitos are looking to reverse a six-game away winless streak, having not won away since December 2021 against Valencia.

Real Madrid vs Espanyol head to head

The two teams have previously met on 55 occasions across all competitions, where Real have claimed 40 victories while Espanyol have won nine, and they have drawn in six. Espanyol have scored 40 goals and conceded 119. In their last five meetings, Real have won four while Espanyol have won once.

Real Madrid 1-0 Espanyol 22/09/18

Espanyol 2-4 Real Madrid 27/01/19

Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol 07/12/19

Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid 28/06/20

Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid 03/10/21

Real Madrid latest home form

Real have recently kept a patchy run of form at home, having lost two of their five most recent matches. In their last home game, they lost 3-2 to Chelsea after extra time in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded nine.

Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad 05/03/22

Real Madrid 3-1 PSG 09/03/22

Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona 20/03/22

Real Madrid 2-0 Getafe 09/04/22

Real Madrid 2-3(E) Chelsea 12/04/22

Real Madrid latest away form

Real lost their last away game 4-3 to Manchester City in the Champions League. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their previous six matches. In their last five away matches, they have scored 14 goals and conceded nine.

Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid 02/04/22

Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid 06/04/22

Sevilla 2-3 Real Madrid 17/04/22

Osasuna 1-3 Real Madrid 20/04/22

Manchester City 4-3 Real Madrid 26/04/22

Espanyol latest home form

Espanyol lost their last home game 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their five matches prior to that. In their last five matches, they have scored five goals and conceded two.

Espanyol 1-1 Sevilla 20/02/22

Espanyol 2-0 Getafe 05/03/22

Espanyol 1-0 Mallorca 20/03/22

Espanyol 1-0 Celta Vigo 10/04/22

Espanyol 0-1 Rayo Vallecano 21/04/22

Espanyol latest away form

Espanyol have recently been on a poor run of form on the road, having failed to win in any of their seven most recent matches. In their last away game, they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored four goals and conceded 11.

Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Espanyol 07/02/22

Villarreal 5-1 Espanyol 27/02/22

Levante 1-1 Espanyol 12/03/22

Real Sociedad 1-0 Espanyol 04/04/22

Atletico Madrid 2-1 Espanyol 17/04/22

Real Madrid news

Defender Nacho Fernandez is out of contention for an unknown period of time, while David Alaba and Mariano Diaz are out for a few weeks, all with physical discomforts.

Miguel Gutierrez is out for the season with a muscle injury, while Luka Jovic’s groin injury keeps him sidelined for a few weeks.

Espanyol news

Espanyol head into Saturday’s game on a clean bill of health and without suspension concerns to deal with, so they are likely to retain the side that started last time out.

In a possible 4-4-2 formation, Raul de Tomas and Javi Puado are set to start as the front two.

Prediction and Odds

Espanyol will be encouraged with their win last time out against Los Blancos, and will fancy their chances of recording another positive result on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid will be looking to bounce back from their defeat on Tuesday, and we believe they will be capable of winning at home.

Odds: 1 1.80 X 2.00 2 2.35