La Liga Preview: Unbeaten for Consecutive Years! Real Madrid Aims for Consecutive Wins with Home Advantage – Can Espanyol Cause an Upset?

On September 22 at 3 AM, the 6th round of La Liga continues with Real Madrid hosting newly promoted Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Real Madrid strengthened their squad by bringing in Mbappé during the summer transfer window, further enhancing their paper strength. However, the retirement of Kroos has been a torment to the Galácticos, significantly reducing creativity and organization in the midfield. Additionally, the overlapping runs of Mbappé and Vinicius have led to the former reluctantly playing as a center-forward, which hasn’t produced satisfactory tactical results.

Despite scoring 5 goals in 7 appearances for Real Madrid, contributing to the UEFA Super Cup, Champions League, and La Liga, it is a fact that Real Madrid has struggled in open play and set pieces. After leaving Ligue 1, the once dominant Mbappé often finds himself frustrated in La Liga, even struggling with one-on-one opportunities, necessitating Ancelotti’s adjustments.

Fortunately, the individual quality of Real Madrid’s players remains high, and with Bellingham returning from injury, the team has managed three consecutive wins, albeit with some difficulty, against Betis, Real Sociedad, and Stuttgart. However, it is worth noting that Real Madrid encountered numerous challenges in these three matches. Without the help of the woodwork and Courtois’ near-perfect performances, the situation would have been even more difficult for the Galácticos.

Espanyol returned to La Liga last season from the Segunda División but spent almost nothing in the transfer market, relying on loan signings and promoting youth players to bolster their squad. Despite this, Espanyol’s performance has not been poor. After losing their first two matches, they have recently won against Rayo Vallecano and Alavés, drawing 0-0 away to Atlético Madrid, accumulating seven points and rising to 12th place in the league table.

There is no doubt that Real Madrid is a team with strong home form. The Galácticos have won all three of their home games in the new season, scoring eight goals and conceding only one. If we consider only La Liga, Real Madrid has won nine and drawn one in their last ten home games, scoring 28 goals and conceding just two, keeping clean sheets in nine of those matches.

Notably, Real Madrid still holds several unbeaten records, such as being undefeated in their last 36 home games at the Bernabéu, and having gone 33 consecutive games without defeat across all competitions, including 37 consecutive unbeaten rounds in La Liga.

In their last ten away games, Espanyol has only won one, drawn six, and lost three, with their last away win being a 1-0 victory over Sporting Gijón in the Segunda División last season. Since returning to La Liga, Espanyol has failed to score in two consecutive away games, drawing one and losing one.

In their last ten meetings, Real Madrid has won eight and lost two, with a win rate of 80%. In the last ten home games against Espanyol, Real Madrid has won all ten, scoring 27 goals and conceding only two, keeping clean sheets in eight of those matches. In the last 28 home games against Espanyol, Real Madrid has won 24 and drawn four, with their last home loss to Espanyol dating back to April 1996.

Overall, Real Madrid clearly has the upper hand against Espanyol. Can the newly promoted team create an upset with their recent impressive form? We will have to wait and see.

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