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Real Madrid v Espanyol: out to extend fine form at the Bernabéu
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NEWS | 22/09/2018 | JAVIER GARCÍA
Following on from the fine victory over Roma, the Whites host one of the division's top performing sides at the start of this LaLiga campaign (8:45pm CEST).
LaLiga action returns to the Santiago Bernabéu, with Real Madrid tonight facing their fifth encounter of the domestic season, just three days on from the team's masterclass in the Champions League curtain-raiser against Roma. Julen Lopetegui's charges turn their focus back to the league as they welcome an Espanyol side that have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and head into the latest round of fixtures in fourth spot. The Whites will be gunning to keep the feel-good factor going and maintain the clean sweep of wins on home soil in LaLiga.
We have to go all the way back to January for the last time that Real Madrid tasted defeat on their own patch. Since then, the team has strung together an 11-game unbeaten run, emerging victorious in nine of these matches. The Whites are well aware of the importance of continuing to pick up maximum points in each of their Bernabéu outings and it's with this mindset that they head into tonight's encounter, which kick-starts a demanding week that features a trip to the Sánchez Pizjuán and a home game against Atlético.
"Espanyol are a very good all-round side. It's the toughest test we've faced so far this season at the Bernabéu”, warned Lopetegui. The Whites' boss will have to do without Dani Carvajal, with the right wing-back the only absentee in the team's final training session ahead of the match. Amongst those available to the coach are Gareth Bale, who's enjoying a real purple patch, after having had a hand in goals in each of his last 10 competitive outings.
Excellent start to the season
Espanyol head to the Santiago Bernabéu having made an impressive start to the league campaign. The side coached by Rubi, who took over the reins in the summer, have seven points to their name after having won two and drawn and lost a game apiece so far this term. However, Real Madrid will be confident of their chances of victory in view of the team's record in meetings with the Catalan outfit on home turf: 22 games unbeaten in LaLiga encounters and no goals conceded in each of Espanyol's last four visits.