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Real Madrid kick off their 2026/27 La Liga season with a trip to RCDE Stadium to face Espanyol on Saturday evening. The new La Liga season commenced a week earlier, with Espanyol winning their first game. Espanyol beat Levante 3-0 thanks to a brace from Roberto Fernández and a goal from Tyrhys Dolan. It was a dream start for the Catalan club, and they will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga. Real Madrid had a strong pre-season campaign under new boss Jose Mourinho, winning four and drawing one. The last test was against FC Schalke, which Los Blancos won 3-0. Espanyol vs Real Madrid – Team News Espanyol have been active in the summer transfer window, adding key reinforcements like attacking midfielder Alex Calatrava from Castellon for €5 million alongside loan arrivals such as Gabriel Moscardo and Unai Nunez from PSG and Celta de Vigo, respectively. Quilindschy Hartman has also arrived on loan from Burnley to strengthen Espanyol’s defence. For the Real Madrid test, manager Manolo Gonzalez will be without Javier Puado and Kike Garcia through injury for this fixture. Real Madrid have enjoyed a strong summer window, breaking the bank to sign Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig. They have imported Premier League-proven talents in the form of Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate and Marc Cucurella, whilst adding Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho faces a longer absentee list, with Rodrygo, Eder Militao, Raul Asencio, Thiago Pitarch and Ferland Mendy all ruled out through injury. Espanyol vs Real Madrid – Predicted Lineups Predicted Espanyol lineup (4-4-2): Marko Dmitrovic; Omar El Hilali, Clemens Riedel, Unai Nunez, Roger Hinojo; Alex Calatrava, Urko González de Zárate, Edu Expósito, Tyrhys Dolan; Roberto Fernández, Javi Hernandez Predicted Real Madrid lineup (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois; Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate, Dean Huijsen, Marc Cucurella; Federico Valverde, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham; Brahim Díaz, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior Espanyol vs Real Madrid – How and where to watch Espanyol vs Real Madrid will take place at RCDE Stadium on Saturday, August 22, at 7.30 pm CET in La Liga. For UK viewers: Not televised, live stream (Disney+) For Indian viewers: Not televised, live stream (FanCode). For USA viewers: ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so any game may be televised on one of their affiliated channels. Live stream (ESPN+). Espanyol vs Real Madrid – Prediction Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid Espanyol are up and running in the new season, thrashing Levante 3-0. They will be raring to make it two wins on the trot by beating Mourinho’s Real Madrid. With the crowd behind them, Los Periquitos will be up for the fight and look to stun Los Blancos. However, Madrid should still be a step too far for Gonzalez’s side. The capital-based outfit will look to get out of the gates of the new season quickly, with several new recruits hoping to make a good first impression under Mourinho.