Espanyol v Real Madrid: Lineups confirmed as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr start LaLiga Matchday 2
Espanyol and Real Madrid confirmed their starting lineups for the LaLiga 2026-27 Matchday 2 fixture at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday, August 22, 2026, with Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior named in Real Madrid’s XI. Yan Diomande, signed from RB Leipzig for €125 million, is included on Madrid’s bench and is set to make his debut tonight.
Real Madrid enter the game after a season without domestic or continental trophies and have made significant summer investments, while Jose Mourinho has been appointed as the club’s head coach. The club paid a €125 million fee to sign Ivorian Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig, and the source states he will make his Real Madrid debut tonight.
Espanyol, the Barcelona-based side, won their opening LaLiga match 3-0 against Levante last week, with Roberto Fernandez scoring a first-half brace and Tyrhys Dolan adding a late goal. Despite that victory, the report says Manolo Gonzalez’s men will be heavy underdogs against a revamped Real Madrid side in Matchday 2.
Espanyol’s starting XI is listed as: Marko Dmitrovic; Omar El Hilali, Clemens Riedel, Unai Nunez, Roger Hinojo; Urko Gonzalez, Edu Exposito; Alex Calatrava, Javier Hernandez, Tyrhys Dolan; Roberto Fernandez. Their bench is reported as: Angel Fortuno (gk), Llorenc Serred (gk), Rafel Bauza, Vanja Drkusic, Marcos Fernandez Sanchez, Gabriel Moscardo, Quilindschy Hartman, Jofre, Jose Angel Lopez, Pol Lozano, Pere Milla, Adama Timera.
Real Madrid’s starting XI is listed as: Thibaut Courtois; Denzel Dumfries, Dean Huijsen, Ibrahima Konate, Alvaro Carreras; Arda Guler, Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham; Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior. Their bench is reported as: Andriy Lunin (gk), Sergio Mestre (gk), Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eduardo Camavinga, Jorge Cestero Sancho, Alexis Ciria, Marc Cucurella, Brahim Diaz, Yan Diomande, Carlos Espi, Mario Rivas, Antonio Rudiger.
The club social posts accompanying the team announcements are included in the source, including Espanyol’s Catalan tweet: "📋 𝐉𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐢́!▶️ Aquest és l'onze de Manolo González.#EspanyolRealMadrid #RCDE pic.twitter.com/9qTpu6hM9J" and Real Madrid’s post: "📋 Our starting XI! 🆚 @RCDEspanyol_EN pic.twitter.com/c6LTCt9to".
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The Matchday 2 fixture between Espanyol and Real Madrid will be played at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday, August 22, 2026, with both clubs having confirmed their full squads ahead of kick-off.
