Espanyol to host Real Madrid at RCDE Stadium on Matchday 2 of LaLiga 2026-27

Espanyol will host Real Madrid at the RCDE Stadium on Matchday 2 of the 2026-27 LaLiga season, with the fixture scheduled for August 23, Sunday – 01:00 am IST; August 22, Saturday – 07:30 pm GMT/03:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT.

Espanyol finished the previous LaLiga campaign 11th, recording 12 wins, 10 draws and 16 losses for 46 points, and are managed by Manolo Gonzalez, who took charge in early 2024. They opened the new season with a 3-0 victory over Levante. Real Madrid made significant changes in the summer transfer window and have appointed Jose Mourinho as their manager; the club went trophyless in the last two years and posted four wins and a draw in five pre-season friendlies.

Form in all competitions reads Espanyol: W-L-D-D-D and Real Madrid: W-W-W-D-W. The preview expects a tight encounter with little room for error for either side and gives the edge to Real Madrid, predicting Espanyol 1-2 Real Madrid.

A Spanish striker who completed a permanent move to Espanyol after a 2025 loan scored a brace against Levante in the opening matchday and is described as holding up opposition defenders and being a lethal finisher; he is singled out as likely to play a key role against Real Madrid. Espanyol will be without Kike García and Javi Puado due to respective injuries.

Real Madrid will rely on Kylian Mbappe on the attack; the Frenchman is noted as having come into this season after a historic World Cup campaign and as Real Madrid’s top goalscorer since joining the club, with an expressed eagerness to establish his importance under Jose Mourinho. Real Madrid will be without Raúl Asencio, Thiago Pitarch, Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy for the trip to Espanyol.

Projected lineups supplied are: Espanyol – Dmitrović (GK); Hilali, Riedel, Núñez, Hinojo; González, Expósito; Calatrava, Hernández, Dolan; Fernández. Real Madrid – Courtois (GK); Dumfries, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella; Valverde, Silva; Diaz, Guler, Vinicius Jr; Mbappe. The last meeting between the teams ended in a 2-0 win for Real Madrid, and the upcoming match will be played at the RCDE Stadium in Catalonia, Spain.

The fixture is Matchday 2 of the 2026-27 LaLiga season on August 23, Sunday – 01:00 am IST; August 22, Saturday – 07:30 pm GMT/03:30 pm ET/12:30 pm PT, and the game will be streamed live on FanCode in India.