Espanyol – Real Madrid: first look, expected lineup, statistics and where to watch G Trends

Summary of the Espanyol and Real Madrid match

Jose Mourinho returns to the Real Madrid bench for a competitive match on Saturday evening when his team takes on Espanyol.

Mourinho joined Real Madrid for the second time during the summer after his first stint in 2013 ended.

He will be tasked with bringing a sense of unity to a dressing room that often seemed fractured last season and boiled over when Federico Valverde and Aurelien Chouamini got into an altercation that left the former needing hospital treatment.

Mourinho is supported in the transfer market by president Florentino Pérez, with Yann Diomande, Marc Cucurella, Carlos Espe, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva all moving to the Santiago Bernabéu.

But he’s had to slowly integrate many of those players — in addition to members of the current squad — because of the World Cup.

Mourinho said: “There are players who played 36 training sessions and five (pre-season) matches and others who played one match and five training sessions. But we were able to work with everyone.”

“I’m very happy with the situation. If you asked me if I wanted an extra week, yes. But we are tired of friendly matches. We don’t like this job because of the friendly matches. We want real matches.”

Mourinho is relishing his return to a top European contender after his career appeared to be on a downward trajectory.

When asked if he felt pressure, he added: “I wouldn’t say pressure, I would say adrenaline. It’s a positive thing. On a day when I don’t feel it, something is wrong. I don’t feel pressure because of the debut or the football matches. I have a lot of confidence in the work we have done. A lot of confidence in the ambition of the players, in their mentality, and the passion they show me. It’s a difficult match, but tomorrow when we travel we will do it with the conviction that we will come back with the three points.”

The trip to Barcelona to face Espanyol is not an easy opening match, especially after Manolo Gonzalez’s side beat Levante 3-0 last weekend.

“They are a good team,” Mourinho said. “Teams that have had the same coach for a long time are teams that are well prepared and have routine and dynamism. They play well and with ambition. I really liked the first game and here they are, with three points, scoring three goals, not conceding a goal, and the fans are happy. We are ready for what we will find.”

Espanyol midfielder Urco Gonzalez de Zarate made his debut in the 1-0 win over Madrid in February 2025 and is targeting a repeat of the result.

“I remember that match with great happiness.” He told Mundo Deportivo. “We were able to beat Real Madrid and we hope to repeat that result on Saturday. With the players we have, we can stand up to anyone.

“I think the important thing is that we perform as well as we always do. We come out good and strong. In the end we are playing at home and that has to be noticed, and obviously against this type of team like Real Madrid, you don’t have to be 110% to be able to achieve something.”

Backgammon league

Team news for the Espanyol vs. Real Madrid match

Quique Garcia (hamstring) and Javi Boadu (knee) have been left out of Espanyol, after a summer in which the club made just three permanent signings and two loan additions. Leandro Cabrera is suspended.

Endrik will miss out while Tshwamini will not be taken into consideration as he regains full fitness. Long-term injury victims Eder Militao (muscle), Rodrigo (knee), Raul Asensio (groin), and Ferland Mendy (groin) are still sidelined.

Jude Bellingham and Diomandy could start on the bench after a short pre-season.

The expected lineup for the match between Espanyol and Real Madrid

Spanish: Dimitrovic; Hilali, Riedel, Nunez, Hinojo; Gonzalez, Lozano; Calatrava, Hernandez, Dolan; Fernandez

Real Madrid: Courtois; Dumfries, Howison, Konate, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo; Diaz, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe

The latest form and statistics for the match between Espanyol and Real Madrid

• Espanyol won 46 matches and lost 119 of the last 201 matches they played against Real Madrid.
• Real Madrid’s five matches in pre-season resulted in four wins and one draw
• Real Madrid won both matches between the two teams 2-0 last season
• Espanyol finished 11th in the Spanish League this season but gained most of its points before Christmas

Where to watch Espanyol vs. Real Madrid: TV and online broadcast

The Espanyol vs. Real Madrid match kicks off at 8.30pm UK time tomorrow evening. You can watch it on Disney+ in the UK and ESPN in the US.

Predict the result of the match between Espanyol and Real Madrid

Although Real Madrid are likely to be a bit undercooked due to the short pre-season for many of their World Cup stars, they should be of very high quality for an Espanyol side that will certainly make it difficult.

Espanyol

1 – 2

real madrid