Mbappé’s Real Madrid hosts unbeaten Espanyol with La Liga lead at stake

By Canadian Press on September 19, 2025.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Few observers imagined that top spot in the Spanish league would be up for grabs when Espanyol visits Real Madrid on Saturday.

But the undefeated Espanyol is in third place and just two points behind leader Madrid, which has won all four of its La Liga games.

Barcelona is second, tied on points with Espanyol, before hosting fifth-placed Getafe at its 6,000-seat Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday.

Key matchup

The modest “parakeets” of Espanyol can dream of ending the round at the top of the standings.

A win at Madrid, combined with Getafe taking at least a point at Barcelona, would see Espanyol move into first place after five rounds.

Espanyol only avoided relegation on the last day of last season and sold star goalkeeper Joan García to rival Barcelona this summer.

But the club was bought this summer by a group that owns English club Burnley and has American shareholders, and it also made several moves in the transfer market. English winger Tyrhys Dolan has impressed and Marko Dmitrovic has filled in for García in goal.

Pere Milla has also emerged as a scoring midfielder with three goals.

Espanyol beat Madrid 1-0 at home last season and can hope to draw inspiration from that stunner.

Madrid will look to take advantage of Kylian Mbappé and his fine scoring form. The France striker has scored six goals in five games this campaign, including a double in a 2-1 win over Marseilles in their Champions League opener this week.

Players to watch

Keep an eye on Marcus Rashford after the England forward scored his first two goals – and great goals they were – for Barcelona in a 2-1 win at Newcastle in the Champions League on Thursday.

Coach Hansi Flick praised the on-loan Manchester United player for his strong performance. Rashford will likely be back in the starting 11 given the doubts regarding the fitness of Lamine Yamal.

Madrid watchers will scrutinize Xabi Alonso’s starting 11 to see if he again picks Rodrygo over star forward Vinícius Júnior, who he used as a substitute against Marseille.

Out of action

Yamal has missed the last two games for Barcelona with an unspecified injury “in the pubic area.”

Madrid will be without right back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is expected to be sidelined for several weeks because of a hamstring injury sustained against Marseille.

Off the field

Barcelona is still unable to get back to playing at its Camp Nou stadium, which was supposed to have been ready by the start of the season after two years of remodeling work.

The Catalan club said Friday that its Oct. 1 game against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League will be played at the city’s Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, where it played the previous two seasons.

That 55,000-seat venue will at least sell many more tickets than the Johan Cruyff stadium, where Barcelona routed Valencia 6-0 last weekend in its home league opener.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Joseph Wilson, The Associated Press