5 bold La Liga predictions: Real Madrid drop points against Espanyol
La Liga has already had plenty of surprises so far this season. Here are five bold predictions for matchday 5.
Barcelona are the only side in La Liga with four wins from four after Real Madrid dropped points at San Mames last weekend. Atletico Madrid and Valencia finished in the top four last season, but they’ve both started slowly as La Liga remains as unpredictable as ever.
Matchday 5 starts with Real Sociedad traveling to Huesca on Friday. In terms of the big teams, Atletico travel to Getafe for the evening kickoff on Saturday and Real host Espanyol in the late game on the same day. Villarreal face Valencia in a tasty fixture on Sunday while Barcelona finish off the weekend when they host Catalonian rivals Girona. Here are five bold predictions for the weekend.
1. Real Madrid suffer European hangover against Espanyol
Los Blancos reacted to their disappointing draw against Athletic Bilbao with a sublime display against Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday. They won 3-0, although the score could have been much higher. They had 30 shots, 11 of which were on target. Altogether they had an xG of 3.7, compared to Roma’s 0.6; it was complete domination.
Espanyol are likely to be a lot less ambitious than Roma, who attempted to sit in a medium block early on, but struggled to deal with pace and movement of Gareth Bale, combined with the precision of Real’s passing.
Espanyol have been resolute this season, though, as Rubi has come in and rejuvenated them even though their summer business was terrible.
Based on Real Madrid’s current goalscoring form, Espanyol unlikely to keep a clean sheet, but they would pose a significant threat in transition so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Borja Iglesias or Leo Baptistao score. This is a weakness for Julen Lopetegui’s system because of how many players are committed forward. There’s certainly a large space to exploit on Real’s left flank due to Marcelo’s charges forward and unwillingness to track back.
An uncompromising defensive approach from Espanyol could frustrate Real after their midweek success and cause them to drop more points as they aim to regain the Liga title.