Espanyol vs Real Madrid
The 2025/26 La Liga title race is almost done. Last week Barcelona went 11 points clear at the top of the Primera Division and the La Liga 2026 betting odds have pretty much closed the book; and the Blaugrana could seal the deal this weekend.
Should Barcelona win at Osasuna on Saturday, as expected, then Real Madrid must win away to Espanyol on Sunday, otherwise the celebrations around Catalonia will begin. It’s slightly ironic that Alvaro Arbeloa’s Real could lose the title in the city of Barcelona when they face Manolo Gonzalez’ RCD Espanyol.
The hosts have their problems, on a 16-match winless run and looking over their shoulders at the relegation scrap and the 40,000 capacity RCDE Stadium will be a cauldron of hostility for the visit of Los Blancos.
But it will still be Madrid’s only chance of winning in Barcelona!
Talking Points
Could Espanyol take the drop?
This must be the most extreme example of a ‘season of two halves’ in my memory. Espanyol was the talk of the town before Christmas, but a 2-1 win away to Athletic Club on 22nd December is now a dim and distant memory. At that point Los Periquitos were in fifth place, two points behind Villarreal in fourth and 18 ahead of 18th placed Girona.
Espanyol were 16 points ahead of Real Sociedad who since then have climbed up to eighth place and have won the Copa del Rey; and the Primera Liga table doesn’t look so good now with just a five point cushion over the relegation zone and with five games to play.
In 2026 Espanyol have picked up a meagre six points, with ten defeats and six draws and if they only manage to continue that ratio and pick up one or two more, then they could be in serious danger. With such a desperate set of La Liga 2026 results the club is in a very deep rut, much like owners ALK’s other club Burnley has been…and I should know!
Manolo Gonzalez led Espanyol to promotion last term, much like Scott Parker at Burnley who has just left the English club by mutual consent. But if you have a difficult landing it isn’t always a good idea to change the pilot, and Gonzalez was ‘Manager of the Month’ in December.
All is not well in Madrid
The wheels have fallen off for Arbeloa and his team recently, out of the Champions League, missing out on the Copa del Rey and watching Barcelona disappear into the distance in the Primera Division.
Last week my SBOTOP colleague James said that Real Betis could be the team to land a near-fatal blow on Los Blancos’ title aspirations and he was right, as a 94th-minute Hector Bellerin goal denied Madrid all three points after Vinicius Junior had given them the lead.
Rumours in Madrid suggest all is not well in the dressing room with some cliques emerging and discontent with the decisions of the manager, particularly on the part of the Spanish contingent, who are said to believe that some players are favoured by the manager, regardless of form. The Galacticos have some ‘untouchable’ players it seems; but not Dani Carvajal and Dani Ceballos, who have struggled for minutes recently while the men on the pitch have misfired. Ceballos did not feature in the matchday squad against Betis while Carvajal was an unused substitute and it appears there are some fractures appearing in the camp.
This is a difficult time for the owners at the Santiago Bernabeu who need to have a clear strategy in place for summer and next season.
History
With 34 wins to six Real Madrid have totally bossed this relationship, though in Catalonia Espanyol have had more success with those six wins coming at the RCDE Stadium along with 14 defeats. And last season the outcome of this fixture was a 1-0 home win.
With two draws and four defeats from the last six games, two goalless draws, against Real Betis and Levante, it has been a miserable time to be an Espanyol fan. It hasn’t been much better for Los Blancos who have won one, drawn two and lost three of their last six.
Betting Tip
Espanyol are at odds of 4.55 to finally win a game in 2026 and against a Real Madrid side which is not together right now, that is a possibility. Los Blancos are at 1.69 to take all three points but I suspect two clubs which have suffered in recent weeks will cancel each other out, and that would be a very good result for Los Periquitos.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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