Will Real Madrid get their next win?
In La Liga, the third matchday is already on the agenda and Real Madrid will face Espanyol Barcelona away from home. This can be an unpleasant task, because the hosts will certainly not give up without a fight.
Before the game Espanyol Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, the odds show a clear favourite role for the royals. Real has so far not left the impression of being particularly vulnerable or sloppy. The team now wants to confirm this impression.
In the title fight, Real Madrid wants to stay in the race right from the start, and mistakes are to be avoided, especially because FC Barcelona has upgraded considerably. The game at Espanyol kicks off on Sunday at 10 p.m.
Espanyol Barcelona – Statistics & current form
Espanyol Barcelona have a small squad at their disposal, but a clear strategy. The Spaniards want to find success this season with a lot of continuity. Most recently, however, they suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Rayo Vallecano on matchday two, in which centre-back Gomez was also sent off. So this performance was definitely capable of improvement. Diego Martinez, the new coach, welcomed several new players in the summer, the most famous name being Tonny Vilhena, who came from Krasnodar.
At the beginning of the season, Espanyol drew 2-2 away at Celta Vigo, where they showed a little bit where they can go. There, Espanyol showed an attacking grip, defensively very tidy for long stretches. As in the second game, it was the individual mistakes that caused problems. Four goals conceded in two games is simply too many for a team whose only concern is to stay in the league.
Espanyol Barcelona’s season-long record is also capable of improvement. The Barcelona club has now failed to win nine games in a row, six of which ended in defeat. Despite some positive approaches in preparation, self-confidence is not exactly high. It is no surprise that these statistics put the hosts even more clearly in the underdog role.
Espanyol Barcelona need improvement on several levels
Strongly in pre-season, the hosts never once really found themselves in relegation trouble. Espanyol Barcelona stayed ahead of the critical zone all season, not even being in a relegation spot. That had to do with the home record. In 2021/22, Espanyol lost only four times at home and won nine of the ten matches at home. That’s quite a board.
It will now be important that the performances from the previous season serve as a model. At home, the defence often stood up well and in the first home game of the season against Rayo, the hosts were actually on course, but the red card changed the game significantly. Compactness should be an important virtue, Real Madrid must not find their game at all. If that succeeds, then something will go for the home side.
But that doesn’t seem likely, because even in weak games, the Royals often look as if they could improve at the end. They also produce corresponding results. Therefore, before the game Espanyol Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, our tip is that the royals will win.
Predicted line-up of Espanyol Barcelona:
Lecomte – Gil, Cabrera, Calero, Olivan – Souza, Exposito, Darder – Sanchez, Javi Puado, Joselu
Last matches played by Espanyol Barcelona:
La Liga
20/08/2022 – Espanyol 0 – 2 Rayo Vallecano
13/08/2022 – Celta Vigo 2 – 2 Espanyol
Friendly club matches
06/08/2022 – Espanyol 0 – 0 SSC Napoli
30/07/2022 – Brighton 5 – 1 Espanyol
28/07/2022 – Espanyol 0 – 1 Linense
Real Madrid – Statistics & current form
For Real Madrid, the first thing to do during the week was to look ahead to Istanbul. The royals awaited their opponents there in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. The defending champions have been drawn with RB Leipzig, Celtic and Shakhtar, which means that Real have to cope with a group that deserves to be called feasible. Now it’s back to business in the league.
Here, too, the royals start the race as defending champions. FC Barcelona seems to be the biggest rival in the fight for the La Liga title this season, but Real Madrid’s start is encouraging. They have won all of their competitive matches in this young season and have already celebrated a title with the European Super Cup.
Last weekend, the royals won 4:1 against Celta Vigo. Here, Real once again showed very good approaches and scored the goals in the decisive phases of the game. Casemiro is no longer there, but the midfield seems ready for a generational change anyway.
Real Madrid impress with consistency
The big key to success at Real Madrid is consistency. This team does not have to shine in every game to be successful in the end. The important thing is to manage the forces well so that they can step up at the end. The team showed this impressively against Celta Vigo. That’s why the royals haven’t lost any of their last seven games and that’s why there has only been one defeat in the last ten games.
In pre-season, Real Madrid were in first place in the table after almost every matchday, conceded only four defeats in the whole La Liga season and conceded only 31 goals. The consistency that has already been mentioned also manifested itself in the statistics. Because Real Madrid like to control games, especially away from home, our value tip before the Espanyol Barcelona vs Real Madrid match is that both teams will not score.
Predicted Real Madrid line-up:
Courtois – Carvajal, Militao, Rüdiger, Mendy – Tchouameni, Kroos, Modric, Valverde – Vinicius Jr, Benzema
Last matches played by Real Madrid:
La Liga
21/08/2022 – Celta Vigo 1 – 4 Real Madrid
15/08/2022 – Almeria 1 – 2 Real Madrid
UEFA Super Cup
11/08/2022 – Real Madrid 2 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Friendly club matches
31/07/2022 – Real Madrid 2 – 0 Juventus FC
27/07/2022 – Real Madrid 2 – 2 CF America
Espanyol Barcelona – Real Madrid Direct comparison / H2H record
Espanyol Barcelona do not have a good record against Real Madrid. After all, there have been 40 wins, but 109 defeats against the royals. In the pre-season, Real won 4-0 at the Bernabeu, but Espanyol won their home game 2-1.
Espanyol Barcelona – Real Madrid Tip
Espanyol Barcelona will be looking to upset the Royals, but will need an outstanding day in the game against Real Madrid to do so. Also, ideally, the opponent needs to offer something, which the Royals rarely do.
In any case, the host will try to somehow break the consistency of the royals. But that will be difficult, which is why our tip before the game Espanyol Barcelona vs Real Madrid is that the visitors will win the game.
