Real Madrid Predicted Lineup vs Espanyol: Time to Bounce Back

Real Madrid return to La Liga on Sunday after two disappointing performances saw them draw against Villarreal before succumbing to a shocking defeat against Sheriff Tiraspol on Wednesday night. They’ll need to put that behind them now though and focus on getting all three points against Espanyol to keep their place at the top of La Liga heading into the International Break.

Goalkeeper

Clean sheets are hard to come by for Real Madrid this season but it’s through no fault of Thibaut Courtois who has been in brilliant form so far during the campaign. The Belgian goalkeeper was expected to be rested against Sheriff but he will be starting on Sunday night and as always, he’ll be hoping to come out with yet another great performance.

Defenders

With Dani Carvajal still on the injury list, it’s difficult to predict who Carlo Ancelotti will choose at right-back. We have already seen Nacho Fernandez and Federico Valverde there but this time it could be the return of Lucas Vazquez in his ‘new’ position as the manager has been satisfied with the Spaniard’s performances so far this season. Having said that, he will definitely need to improve defensively. In the center, the partnership of Eder Militao and David Alaba will be chosen once again as the final question will be who to start on the left. All signs point to Nacho Fernandez ahead of Miguel Gutierrez who was the starter on Wednesday night.

Midfielders

With some below-average performances from a player who has consistently been playing at a high-level for the past couple of seasons, Carlos Casemiro will need to regain his form as soon as possible and hopefully, we can see some of that on Sunday. In front of him, Luka Modric will start alongside Federico Valverde. It’s still too early for us to see Toni Kroos starting. The good thing is that we finally saw him back on the pitch on Wednesday night as he slowly regains full fitness. He could be back to the starting eleven after the international break if all goes to plan.

Forwards

It’s a little tricky to predict what Ancelotti will have in mind when it comes to his front three. Will he start Eden Hazard again in a 4-4-2? Will Rodrygo Goes get a chance even though he has been better when coming off the bench? It will most probably be Eden Hazard as he needs consistency to get back to his normal form. It’s too much for us to hope that the Belgian regains what he has shown during his time at Chelsea but he has to show that he has what it takes to be an asset to the team for the remainder of the season. It’s a massive hill to climb but it’s something he needs to focus on. On the opposite side, Vinicius Junior will start once again and he’ll hope to get back to scoring regularly alongside the striker for the night who will be Karim Benzema.

Full Predicted Lineup

Thibaut Courtois, Lucas Vazquez, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Nacho Fernandez, Carlos Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Eden Hazard, Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema