🏏 Sat, 22 Aug 2026 21:30 CEST
Espanyol
vs
Real Madrid
4-4-2 vs 4-2-3-1
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- Espanyol come into this one on three points after a 3-0 home shutout of Levante on the opening weekend, which leaves them third with a +3 goal difference from just one game played. Sevilla sit top on six points from two. Real Madrid, by contrast, have no league record in the table yet, so their first numbers of the season will be written here.
- It is Espanyol's 4-4-2 against a Real Madrid 4-2-3-1. The hosts use a flat midfield four featuring 24-year-old Englishman Tyrhys Dolan, a regular for five seasons at Blackburn Rovers before his 2025 switch, and 30-year-old Edu Expósito, a technical passer shaped at Deportivo and Eibar. Their first task is closing the central lane run by Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva.
- Real Madrid's back four has been rebuilt almost wholesale. Ibrahima Konaté, the 27-year-old, 194cm France international who came through Sochaux and RB Leipzig to Liverpool, partners 21-year-old Dean Huijsen (195cm, ex-Juventus and Bournemouth). Denzel Dumfries, the 30-year-old Netherlands right-back signed from Inter, and Álvaro Fernández, back at the club after Benfica and Manchester United, take the flanks.
- The one-v-one on Espanyol's right flank may settle the night. Omar El Hilali, 22, is an academy product who twice turned down Barcelona to stay, and his game is built on sharp tackling and aggressive overlaps. Waiting for him is Vinícius Júnior, the 26-year-old left winger whose cut-inside shooting and change of pace are his sharpest tools.
- Real's front four is stacked with individual quality. Kylian Mbappé, 27, a World Cup Golden Boot winner who arrived via Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, leads the line, with Vinícius, the 23-year-old box-crashing Jude Bellingham and left-footed Arda Güler (21, once Fenerbahçe's No.10) behind him. The more balls that go in behind, the more Espanyol's line has to turn and run.
- Meeting those runs are two 186cm centre-backs. Unai Núñez, 29, came through Athletic Club and has since taken in Celta Vigo, Valencia and Hellas Verona, reading danger early and helping the build-up. Beside him is 23-year-old Clemens Riedel, who helped Darmstadt 98 earn Bundesliga promotion and joined for around €2m in 2025 on the back of his duel and aerial work.
- The goalkeeping contrast is worth watching. Marko Dmitrović, 34 and 194cm, is a left-footed Serbia international who won the Europa League with Sevilla and has a name for stopping penalties. Thibaut Courtois, also 34 but 200cm, brings the shot-stopping and one-v-one strength built at Genk, Chelsea and Atlético Madrid, plus reliable left-footed distribution.
- Roberto Fernández is the hosts' reference point. The 24-year-old, 186cm forward made his name at Málaga, had a loan spell with Barcelona B, then arrived on loan from Braga and scored the winner on his debut. His hold-up play and finishing will be tested against the combined 195cm of Huijsen and 194cm of Konaté.
- The benches are unevenly matched. Real can turn to 27-year-old Trent Alexander-Arnold, the former Liverpool set-piece specialist, plus Marc Cucurella, Eduardo Camavinga and 19-year-old Yan Diomandé, who broke through at Leganés and has three goals in ten Ivory Coast caps. Espanyol's trump cards are Netherlands left-back Quilindschy Hartman, 24, an Eredivisie winner with Feyenoord, and 33-year-old left-footed Pere Milla.