Preview: Real Madrid vs. Espanyol

Real Madrid can keep up the pressure on Atletico Madrid in La Liga with a victory over Espanyol this Sunday.

The Spanish champions' rivals sit five points above them in second place, largely thanks to the prolific goalscoring form of striker Radamel Falcao, and Madrid reside 11 points adrift of table-toppers Barcelona.

Jose Mourinho's men head into the clash on the back of a Copa del Rey defeat to Celta Vigo and the Spanish giants will be hoping to avoid a similar fate when they host Espanyol at the Bernabeu.

Meanwhile, Madrid's weekend opponents currently sit in the relegation zone of the table and heading to the home of the league champions is a daunting prospect as Espanyol try to climb out of the bottom three.

Xabi Alonso and Mesut Ozil could line the midfield for the home side this weekend, while Stuani is likely to be relied on for goals for Espanyol.

Recent form

Real Madrid: WWLWW

Espanyol: LLLDD

Possible lineups

Real Madrid: Casillas; Pepe, Ramos, Arbeloa, Nacho; Khedira, Ozil, Alonso, Ronaldo; Callejon, Benzema

Espanyol: Alvarez; Forlin, Moreno, Colotto, Alvarez; Mata, Verdu, Lopez, Wakaso, Fonte; Stuani

Sports Mole says: 3-0