Real Madrid will have its first chance of lifting the trophy Saturday when it hosts Espanyol. Madrid is 15 points ahead of second-place Barcelona with five rounds to go. You can live-bet on the Spanish top-flight league by using our soccer predictions.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and Spain La Liga odds for Real Madrid vs Espanyol. We have plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Real Madrid: All Eyes On the Champions League Trophy
For 90 minutes long, Real Madrid and Man City, both leaders in their domestic leagues gave soccer fans one of the most entertaining Champions League contests in the history of the sport. Real Madrid lost 4-3 on Tuesday and everything will be decided next week in Madrid and the winner of this double-legged tie will go against either Liverpool or Villarreal.
Karim Benzema continues to re-write history with Real Madrid. He scored a brace in his 600th appearance for the club. It was his 41st goal in 41 games played this season. He is also having his best season in the Champions League. With this brace he has now netted 14 goals in this season’s competition, surpassing Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski. He is a huge favorite to win the Ballon d’Or and he is determined to take France all the way and lift the World Cup trophy.
With five rounds remaining until the end of the domestic season, Real Madrid needs just one point to be crowned champions. Given their easy domestic schedule, they should be able to do it this weekend against Espanyol. There’s always a ‘but’… Why? Because this clash comes between their Champions League tie against Man City and we expect them to rest many of their key players.
Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior, David Alaba, and Toni Kroos are all expected to be sidelined against Espanyol. We might see Gareth Bale from the first minute of the game, Camavinga, Isco, Marcelo, or Lucas. Real Madrid has great depth, so, even with players coming off the bench they have what it takes to beat Espanyol on home soil. A win would be a boost of confidence for them as they will approach the second leg against Man City with great morale. We won’t risk anything, so we will not include them in our soccer picks and parlays.
Espanyol: Playing for Pride
Espanyol is already on vacation. They are sitting 13th in the standings, nine points above the danger zone. The Catalan outfit is not mathematically safe from the threat of relegation, but it would be a huge surprise if they were pulled into trouble from this position. Espanyol won last season’s Segunda Division to secure an immediate return to this level, so avoiding a relegation battle this term was their number one priority and that has been the case thus far.
The visitors are expected to have a fully-fit squad unless there are any late setbacks in the build-up to kickoff. If they beat Real Madrid it will be the first time in their history they make the double in a single season against the Spanish giants after beating them 2-1 on home soil in the reverse fixture. If you’re soccer betting you should know that lower-ranked teams like Espanyol are always giving everything on the pitch against the big names like Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Atletico Madrid. We expect them to put on a good fight but we don’t expect them to pull off the upset.
Real Madrid vs Espanyol Head-to-Head
Espanyol has produced inconsistent performances throughout the season. In their last ten games, they have won three, lost four, and played to as many draws. They are one of the worst road teams in the league winning just one in 16 away fixtures. They earned just eight points in the process conceding 28 goals. On the other side, Real Madrid has lost just one home game this term. That came one month ago when they got trashed 4-0 by Barcelona. They conceded just 13 goals in 16 home games. If we take out the defeat from the reverse fixture, they have an impressive record against the Catalan team winning 15 of their last 16 mutual encounters across all competitions. They’ve never lost at home against Espanyol in the last 35 years winning 95 percent of their games. To top it off, they kept six consecutive clean sheets in their home head-to-heads against Espanyol.
Real Madrid vs Espanyol Game Information
- Game: Real Madrid (24-6-3) vs. Espanyol (10-9-14)
- Location: Estadio Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid)
- Day/Time: Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET
- Live stream: fubo.tv
Real Madrid vs Espanyol Betting Lines
Real Madrid vs Espanyol Predictions
As expected, the hosts enter this clash as heavy favorites being priced at -190 on the three-way moneyline according to the latest soccer odds while the goal line is set at three.
Given the circumstances (Champions League semi-final against Man City) we don’t expect Real Madrid to push for a heavy win so we will avoid the winner market as we consider it a trap. The goal line is set too high as we don’t expect more than three goals in this match. Still, Real Madrid has the chance to wrap up the title and despite the fact that they will surely rest many of their key players, their bench is stronger than Espanyol’s starting lineup.
By using our sportsbook you have the chance to combine two markets for a better outcome. That’s exactly what we will do for our official pick. The home win combined with a maximum of three goals in the match should be the smartest approach for this clash.
