Can the Royals keep up with FC Barcelona?
On Saturday, Real Madrid will host RCD Espanyol Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu. While the royals cannot afford to make a mistake in the fight for the championship, the guests are fighting to stay in the league. The bookmakers’ betting odds between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona are aligned accordingly. The bookmakers expect a clear victory for the home side and therefore offer odds of around 1.25 for a home win.
The Madrilenians are still unbeaten in their own stadium and have collected 25 points from eleven games. They have scored 23 goals and conceded only eight. Real Madrid are in second place in the home table.
The form of the past two weeks has been rather sobering, as Carlo Ancelotti’s team have gone three games without a win since the 5-2 victory over Liverpool FC. In La Liga, Real were held to draws by Atletico Madrid and Real Betis, while in the Copa del Rey, they lost 1-0 to Barcelona.
Espanyol are doing surprisingly well in the away table, as RCD find themselves in ninth place with 14 points from twelve games. The visitors have only lost four games away from home and that should at least give their supporters some encouragement.
In addition, Espanyol Barcelona are in rising form and have lost only four of eleven games in 2023. Three of the four defeats came away from home and against supposedly weaker teams like Real Valladolid, Almeria and Athletic Bilbao. For this reason, the bookmakers’ odds between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona are also understandable.
Karim Benzema faces one of his favourite opponents and should therefore be in particular focus. In the past three duels with Espanyol, the Frenchman has scored four goals. In total, he has been directly involved in 16 goals in 20 games against lowly Barcelona, despite only playing an average of 60 minutes on the pitch. Based on these facts between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona, we recommend betting on a goal from the French striker of the Madrilenians.
Real Madrid – Statistics & current form
Real Madrid are in second place in the top Spanish league, yet are running behind expectations. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have taken 53 points from 24 games and are nine points behind FC Barcelona. In the battle for the championship, the royals can hardly afford to make any more mistakes, because otherwise the title will go to their great rivals. However, they seem to be sure of qualifying for the Champions League again, because the gap to fifth place is already twelve points. However, the standard remains the same year after year and therefore even second place would not be satisfactory.
The strongest offence in La Liga
The Royals have scored 47 goals in 24 games in the Spanish first division, making them the best attack in La Liga. On average, the Madrilenians put the ball in the opponent’s goal 1.95 times per game. In 2023, however, Real are already four games without a goal of their own.
Defensively, the hosts are solid, but compared to FC Barcelona, Carlo Ancelotti’s team lags far behind. Real Madrid conceded 18 goals, ten more than their great rivals. In the title race, this is currently the decisive point.
The thinly-occupied position
There is only one true left-back in the Real Madrid squad and that is Ferland Mendy. The Frenchman is always struggling with injuries and will also be missing against Espanyol. David Alaba is a centre-back, but he could also play on the left. However, the Austrian will also miss out after suffering a thigh injury.
Meanwhile, Eduardo Camavinga has been converted to left-back. As a central midfielder, however, his qualities in defence are somewhat lost. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Royal League is already looking for a new player. Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich is very high on the list.
One of the most valuable players in the world
Vinicius Junior is the most valuable player in the Real Madrid squad, in the Brazilian national team, in La Liga and in the position of left winger. His market value is 120 million, so there are only two players more valuable – Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
This season, he is Real Madrid’s top scorer with 18 goals and nine assists across the competition. He will be particularly important in the coming months as Karim Benzema does not seem to be able to replicate his early season form.
Last matches of Real Madrid:
La Liga
06/03/2023 – Real Betis 0 – 0 Real Madrid
Copa del Rey
03/03/2023 – Real Madrid 0 – 1 FC Barcelona
La Liga
26/02/2023 – Real Madrid 1 – 1 Atletico Madrid
Champions League Final
22/02/2023 – Liverpool FC 2 – 5 Real Madrid
La Liga
19/02/2023 – Osasuna Pamplona 0 – 2 Real Madrid
Espanyol Barcelona – Statistics & current form
Espanyol are in 13th place in the Spanish top flight and desperately need points. Diego Martinez’s team picked up 27 points from 24 games and is thus only two points ahead of the first relegation place. The team from Barcelona will therefore play against relegation again this season. This is nothing new for the visitors, as the Blue and Whites were only relegated in 2020. After direct relegation, RCD only narrowly avoided relegation and this season seems to be no different.
Defensive problems predominate
The visitors have conceded 36 goals this season, a figure that places them 16th in the league. Espanyol concede an average of 1.50 goals and face a mammoth task in Madrid. In the first leg, RCD already conceded three goals, so they could be in for a thrashing this Saturday.
With 30 goals in 24 games, the attack could at least compensate for the lack of stability. In the offensive rankings, Espanyol Barcelona are still in eighth place, despite the poor situation in the table.
Two new arrivals
The visitors signed Martin Braithwaite from FC Barcelona and Joselu from Deportivo Alaves in the summer. Both attackers arrived on a free transfer and immediately helped the team. The two strikers bring a lot of experience and keep Espanyol alive at the moment.
The duo was directly involved in 23 of the 30 goals scored by the visiting team – that’s almost 77% of the goals. The Blue and White’s offence is therefore very dependent on the two top scorers and thus easy for the opponent to calculate.
Suddenly Premier League?
Vinicius Souza moved from Flamengo to SK Lommel in Belgium in 2020 for 2.5 million euros. From there he was loaned directly to KV Mechelen and multiplied his market value. He is currently on loan to Espanyol Barcelona, where he has become an absolute regular.
The Brazilian six-pointer now has a market value of €7 million and could make the move to the best league in the world as early as this summer. Wolverhampton Wanderers are said to have him on their books to compensate for a possible move for Ruben Neves.
Last games of Espanyol Barcelona:
La Liga
05/03/2023 – Real Valladolid 2 – 1 Espanyol
25/02/2023 – Espanyol 2 – 1 Mallorca
19/02/2023 – Elche 0 – 1 Espanyol
14/02/2023 – Espanyol 2 – 3 Real Sociedad
04/02/2023 – Espanyol 1 – 1 Osasuna Pamplona
Real Madrid – Espanyol Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison between the two teams clearly goes to the hosts. Real Madrid have won 110 games, while the visitors are on just 40 wins. Six of the past seven encounters have gone to the royals, while Espanyol have only managed a single victory in that period. Barcelona have not scored in Madrid since 2014, so our prediction between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona is clearly in favour of the home team. Anything other than an emphatic victory would be a real surprise in this pairing.
Real Madrid – Espanyol Barcelona Tip
We are betting on a win for the hosts between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona with a handicap of -1. At their own stadium, the royals will dominate the game and create plenty of scoring chances against the visitors’ weak defence. Four of the last five victories against RCD were celebrated with more than one goal difference. The first leg in Barcelona ended with 1:3 and the Madrilenians should leave the pitch in a similarly commanding manner in their own stadium. Real even won the last home match against Espanyol 4-0.
In fourteen of the last 19 duels, Espanyol have failed to score and therefore we think the odds for “both teams score – no” between Real Madrid and Espanyol Barcelona are very interesting.
