RCD Espanyol vs Real Madrid CF

Espanyol host Real Madrid on August 22 in a fixture that doubles as the visitors' delayed 2026-27 curtain-raiser, pushed back a week because of World Cup call-ups. It's also José Mourinho's first league game back in charge of Madrid, who finished runners-up behind Barcelona last term. Espanyol, for their part, survived a nervy relegation fight to finish 11th and will want a strong start on home turf. The last meeting between these two, in May 2026, went comfortably to the visitors: a 2-0 win at RCDE Stadium built on a second-half double from Vinicius Junior. Madrid also spent big over the summer, bringing in Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and record signing Yan Diomande to freshen up a side that leaked goals last season. Espanyol will lean on Kike García up front as they try to make life difficult for a Madrid side still finding its feet under a new coach. Our prediction: 1-2