Read Madrid, Spanish football giants, who started their La Liga season with a draw against the promoted side, Sporting Gijon, showed their true class against Real Betis, winning 5-0. Real Madrid will be eager to come up with a similar thumping performance against Espanyol at Estadi Cornella-El Prat on Saturday.
However, Real have suffered a huge blow, with one of their stars, James Rodriguez, ruled out as he has a torn muscle in his left thigh. But they do have huge depth in their squad to ensure a suitable replacement. The midfielder suffered an injury during their international break when Colombia faced Peru.
Apart from Rodriguez, Danilo also suffered an injury during the break, adding to the team's concerns. Real Madrid manager, Rafa Benitez, is disappointed with the injuries but wants to get the best out of the available players in the squad.
"We know that events with international squads sometimes involve these types of problems. Having so many international players adds a greater risk. The news is a little annoying because these are two players that took part the other day and played really well. Now they will miss several games and we have to get a good performance out of the excellent available squad in order to minimise the effect of the injuries," Real Madrid official website quoted Rafa as saying.
Real Madrid need to concentrate solely on the game ahead as they cannot drop points once again after their early stumble, especially against their bitter rivals, Barcelona, who later face Atletico Madrid, having won two in two games so far.
However, their opponents, Espanyol, who have accumulated three points from their first two games, are aware of the huge task ahead. The home team, which finished at a respectable 10th last season, will be more than happy to come up with a similar result this season as well, especially after some of its big players decided to move on and joined some other clubs.
The home team will be pleased if it draw the game against Real, who will only be content with three points. But even a draw will be mighty difficult for Espanyol, especially with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Benzema as Real's attacking options.
What makes it even more tough is the fact that their star player Ronaldo, who is yet to score his first goal of the season, will be more than determined to get on the score-sheet on Saturday.
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Real Madrid vs Espanyol La Liga game is scheduled for 7:30pm IST (4pm CET, 3pm BST, 10am ET) start.
Viewers in India can watch the Real Madrid vs Espanyol match live in India on Sony Kix and Sony Six HD with live streaming option on Livsports.
Audience in the USA and Australia will be able to watch Real Madrid vs Espanyol live on Bein Sports, while the live stream option is on Bein Sports Connect.
UK viewers will have the luxury of watching the Real Madrid vs Espanyol live on Sky Sports3/HD, while the action can also be followed online on Sky Go.
