Real Madrid vs Espanyol Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

Preview

Joel Amorim Jan 28, 2016 @ 12:38 am

Next Sunday, 31st of January 2016, Zidane’s “new” Real Madrid will measure forces with Espanyol at Santiago Bernabéu for Round 22 of the Spanish Liga BBVA.

After two smashing home wins over Sporting de Gijón and Deportivo de La Coruña, Real Madrid suffered a major setback on their visit to Benito Villamarín last Sunday. Zinedine Zidane’s men were in control for almost the entire match, but were somewhat caught by surprise by Real Betis’ early goal. Los Blancos made a total of 18 goal attempts, combined with a staggering ball possession percentage of 64%, but have only managed to score one single goal. The home side goalkeeper, Antonio Adán, put up an almost vintage performance and managed to delay Real Madrid’s equalizer on several occasions. Zidane’s men probably have some reasons to complain about the referee’s work, who denied them at least one penalty still during the first-half, but that does not serve as an excuse for the team’s poor finishing skills.

The upcoming match against Espanyol is of crucial importance for Real Madrid, who are already trailing the league leaders Barcelona by four points and the Catalan team still has one game in hand. For the fixture against Espanyol, Zidane will not be able to rely on the services of the skilled Welshman Gareth Bale, who is currently sidelined due to a calf injury. The team’s captain, Sergio Ramos, is also undergoing treatment for a calf injury and he is in doubt out there.

As for Espanyol, after an extremely negative streak of results, Los Periquitos managed to hold Villarreal to a draw at Catalunya last time out. An early goal by Felipe Caicedo allowed the home side to start the match off on the right foot, but the visitors didn’t intend to participate in Espanyol’s new chairman welcoming party and leveled the score twenty minutes later by Manu Trigueros. Espanyol pulled rank once again and five minutes before the break the Spanish forward Gerard Moreno netted the team’s second of the day. The Catalan team managed to hold their advantage until the last moments of the match, when Villarreal’s Argentinian Mateo Musacchio headed home a corner by Denis Suárez.

For next weekend’s complicated visit to Santiago Bernabéu, Espanyol’s head coach Constantin Galca will not be able to rely on the services of Gerard Moreno and Victor Alvarez, who are currently suspended. The Ecuadorian forward Felipe Caicedo is still recovering from a hamstring and he is in doubt out there.

Real Madrid

Stats: W-3 L-0 D-2

Recent Form - DWWDW

Espanyol

Stats: W-0 L-4 D-1

Recent Form - DLLLL

Possible Line-ups

Real Madrid (4-2-3-1) – Navas - Carvajal - Pepe - Varane - Marcelo - Kroos - Modric - Isco - Ronaldo - James - Benzema

Espanyol (4-2-3-1) - Pau - Lopez - Gonzalez - Roco - Duarte - Joan Jordan - Diop - Sylla - Sevilla - Perez - Caicedo

Injury List / Suspended Players

Real Madrid - Bale (inj) - Sergio Ramos (in doubt)

Espanyol - Caicedo (in doubt) - Gerard (sus) - Victor Alvarez (sus)

Head-to-head matches:

League Positions