Real Madrid travels away from home for their first La Liga match of the season on Saturday as they face Espanyol in their opening league fixture.Espanyol vs Real Madrid – Match preview and team newsDate: Saturday, 22nd August.Kick-off: 8:30pm BST.Venue: RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat.Espanyol team newsManager Manolo González must navigate severe squad selection headaches due to four significant player absences.In defense, veteran center-back Leandro Cabrera is completely unavailable as he serves a carryover suspension.The Catalan side is also dealing with long-term offensive injuries. Forward Javi Puado is recovering from a severe ACL knee tear, while Kike García remains sidelined with a stubborn hamstring issue.Adding to the team’s mid-week stress, midfielder Edu Expósito faces a crucial late fitness test after picking up a muscle issue in the previous game, leaving Pol Lozano ready to step in.On a positive note, new summer playmaker Álex Calatrava is expected to feature prominently, while PSG loanee Gabriel Moscardo will likely provide depth from the bench.Real Madrid team newsReal Madrid begins its official campaign under returning manager José Mourinho with a heavily depleted squad traveling to the RCDE Stadium.Los Blancos have six players completely ruled out, forcing major adjustments across the board.Long-term injury absentees include Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Raul Asencio, and Ferland Mendy, who are all recovering from respective muscle, knee, thigh, and hip injuries.Furthermore, Endrick and Aurélien Tchouaméni have been completely omitted from the squad list to focus on summer recovery.While midfield talisman Jude Bellingham made the official traveling list, he is severely lacking pre-season match fitness and will likely start from the bench.Despite these setbacks, Mourinho can fully lean on star summer arrivals. Ibrahima Konaté, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella, and Bernardo Silva are fully cleared to make their official competitive debuts, while a completely fit Kylian Mbappé is eager to spearhead the offensive line.FormEspanyolEspanyol sits high in the La Liga standings following a spectacular 3-0 opening weekend demolition of Levante, fueled by an early Roberto Fernández brace. That emphatic victory extended their top-flight unbeaten run to four matches stretching back to last season. However, their overall pre-season build-up under Manolo González was patchy, marred by defensive lapses that included a 1-3 loss to Coventry City alongside consecutive draws against Burnley and Middlesbrough.Real MadridReal Madrid approaches their competitive season opener in perfect friendly form, stringing together three consecutive victories to close out their summer. Los Blancos clicked offensively to secure a dominant 3-0 victory against Schalke 04, closely following tight 1-0 and 2-1 pre-season triumphs over Deportivo de A Coruña and Ferencváros. Despite these reassuring warm-up results, José Mourinho inherits a squad looking to shake off last season’s late Champions League exit.Predicted lineupsEspanyol: Dmitrovic; El-Hilali, Riedel, Nunez, Hinojo; Gonzalez, Lozano; Calatrava, Hernandez, Dolan; FernandezReal Madrid: Courtois; Dumfries, Huijsen, Konate, Cucurella; Valverde, Bernardo; Diaz, Guler, Vinicius; MbappeHow to watch Espanyol vs Real Madrid?The Espanyol vs Real Madrid match will be broadcast exclusively live on Disney+ in the United Kingdom.Read Also – Ipswich Town vs Sunderland – Match preview and team newsSee More – Sunderland XI vs Ipswich Town – Predicted lineup and team newsFollow the Football Faithful on Social Media:Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeThe post Espanyol vs Real Madrid – Match preview and team news appeared first on The Football Faithful.