Preview: Espanyol vs Real Madrid - prediction, team news, lineups

Real Madrid's 2026-27 La Liga campaign will begin on Saturday evening, with Jose Mourinho's side heading to RCDE Stadium to tackle Espanyol.

Los Blancos will be aiming to wrestle the title back from Barcelona this season, while Espanyol will have their eyes on a top-half finish, and the Catalan outfit opened their campaign with a 3-0 success over Levante on August 16.

Match preview

Espanyol were excellent in their opening match of the new season against Levante, running out 3-0 winners, with Roberto Fernandez scoring a brace for the Catalan side.

Manolo Gonzalez's side finished 11th in Spain's top flight last season, but their form in the first half of the campaign was exceptional, having the look of a potential Champions League outfit before a poor second half of the season saw them slide down the table.

Espanyol have made five signings this summer, while there have been 10 departures, so there is a fresh look to the squad this season.

The Catalan side lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in both league games last season, but they did record a 1-0 victory over Los Blancos when the pair locked horns at RCDE Stadium in February 2025.

Espanyol have won 46 and lost 119 of their previous 201 matches against Real Madrid, and it will be fascinating to see how Los Blancos perform this season under Mourinho.

Real Madrid were not involved in the opening set of La Liga fixtures due to the number of players that the club had in the latter stages of the 2026 World Cup, so their gameweek one match against Real Sociedad will instead take place on August 26.

Los Blancos will be bidding to make the perfect start to their season when they tackle Espanyol, and reclaiming the league title is very much on the agenda this term, with Barcelona lifting the championship in each of the last two campaigns.

Real Madrid played five times in pre-season, recording four wins, including three straight victories over Ferencvaros, Deportivo La Coruna and Schalke 04.

Los Blancos have had a standout transfer window, bringing in Yan Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espi, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva.

Vinicius Junior, who was heavily linked with Arsenal, has also signed a new contract, and Real Madrid certainly look in strong shape to enjoy a successful 2026-27 campaign.

Espanyol La Liga form:

Real Madrid pre-season form:

Team News

Espanyol will definitely be without the services of Kike Garcia (hamstring), Javi Puado (knee) and Leandro Cabrera (suspended) for this weekend's clash with Real Madrid.

Edu Exposito (muscle) needs to be assessed, meanwhile, with the midfielder substituted in the latter stages of the team's 3-0 success over Levante last time out.

Fernandez hit a brace in Espanyol's first match of the campaign and will continue in the final third of the field, but an absence for Exposito would open the door for Pol Lozano to come into the side.

As for Real Madrid, Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrygo (knee), Raul Asencio (thigh) and Ferland Mendy (hip) are not available for selection due to injury problems.

Endrick (muscle) and Aurelien Tchouameni (muscle), meanwhile, require late fitness tests before their availability for the La Liga fixture can be determined.

A lack of pre-season minutes could mean that Jude Bellingham starts on the bench here, while Diomande could also be among the substitutes for the first whistle.

There are likely to be debuts for Dumfries, Konate, Cucurella and Bernardo, while Kylian Mbappe is set to lead the Real Madrid attack at RCDE Stadium.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; El-Hilali, Riedel, Nunez, Hinojo; Gonzalez, Lozano; Calatrava, Hernandez, Dolan; Fernandez

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Dumfries, Huijsen, Konate, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo; Diaz, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe

We say: Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid

Espanyol were excellent against Levante, but Real Madrid are a different proposition entirely, and we are expecting Los Blancos to begin their 2026-27 campaign with a victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.