Having handed Barcelona a four-point head start in the La Liga title race, a sputtering Real Madrid host Espanyol on Saturday looking for some kind of momentum.
Los Blancos have struggled to begin the season, dropping points early while relying on late hijinks to bail them out in other moments.
While they have yet to be beaten, Madrid have been held to a draw in two of their first five games of the league campaign. Most recently, they needed two late goals to get past Stuttgart in Champions League play midweek after being pummeled through the opening half.
Espanyol have turned their poor start to the season in a hurry, winning their last two on the trot after picking up just a single point off their first three La Liga matches. They got a 96th-minute winner to beat Rayo Vallecano before Javier Puado's hat-trick downed Alaves 3-2 last weekend.
Carlo Ancelotti may decide to bring back Eder Miliato to the centre of the defence after experimenting with Dani Carvajal at centre-back against Stuttgart.
Real Madrid predicted XI (4-3-3, right to left): Courtois (GK) -- Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy -- Valverde, Tchouameni Bellingham -- Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius.
The only two players missing for Espanyol boss Manolo Gonzalez are Fernando Calero and Edu Exposito. Calero is a big miss, having slotted into the back line after the first two games but cropping up with an ankle injury, while Exposito recovers from an ACL tear suffered back in January.
Espanyol predicted XI (4-4-2, right to left): J. Garcia (GK) -- El Hilali, Kumbulla, L. Cabrera, C. Romero -- Tejero, Kral, Aguado, Carreras -- Puado, Veliz.
Injured: Calero, Exposito.
Suspended: None
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