Real Madrid will look to make it six straight wins in all competitions when they resume their La Liga campaign with a clash against struggling Espanyol on Saturday night.
Los Blancos beat Real Valladolid 3-0 in Spain's top flight last weekend, and they are currently top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven clear ahead of Barcelona in third.
Carlo Ancelotti's side were in Champions League action on Wednesday night, beating Brest 3-0 in their final match in the league phase of the competition, and the European champions now need to win a playoff in order to advance to the next round.
As for Espanyol, the Catalan outfit have found it difficult during the 2024-25 campaign, with a total of 20 points from 21 matches leaving them down in 18th spot in the table, one point behind 17th-placed Alaves.
The hosts only have five league successes to their name this term, and they will be welcoming a Real Madrid outfit that will be aiming to post their 16th league win of the campaign.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides ahead of their showdown this weekend.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 198
Real Madrid wins: 117
Draws: 36
Espanyol wins: 45
Unsurprisingly, this is a fixture that Real Madrid have dominated throughout history, winning 117 of their previous 198 matches with Espanyol, while they have lost 45 times and also shared the spoils on 36 occasions.
Los Blancos have scored 420 times against Espanyol, conceding 223, and Raul is actually the all-time leading goalscorer in this fixture, having found the back of the net on 17 occasions against Espanyol during his time at Bernabeu.
The legendary Alfredo Di Stefano, meanwhile, represented both Real Madrid and Espanyol during his professional career, and he managed 16 goals in this fixture, with Cristiano Ronaldo third in the standings on 15.
In terms of La Liga, Los Blancos have won 108 of their 177 matches against Espanyol, losing 36 times and drawing 33, scoring 394 goals to Espanyol's 197.
Real Madrid have won their last four league games against Espanyol, including 3-1 victories home and away when they locked horns during the 2022-23 campaign, before winning 4-1 at Bernabeu in their last fixture in September 2024.
Espanyol have only actually beaten Los Blancos in the league twice since October 2007, while they have not managed to overcome Real Madrid at Bernabeu in Spain's top flight since April 1996.
Indeed, each of their last seven league successes over Real Madrid have come on home soil.
Real Madrid went on a 11-game winning run against Espanyol between January 2014 and October 2017, while they have been victorious in eight of the last nine meetings between the two sides.
Last 20 meetings
Sept 21, 2024: Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Mar 11, 2023: Real Madrid 3-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Aug 28, 2022: Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 30, 2022: Real Madrid 4-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Oct 03, 2021: Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Jun 28, 2020: Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Dec 07, 2019: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 27, 2019: Espanyol 2-4 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Sep 22, 2018: Real Madrid 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Feb 27, 2018: Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Oct 01, 2017: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Feb 18, 2017: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Sep 18, 2016: Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Jan 31, 2016: Real Madrid 6-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Sep 12, 2015: Espanyol 0-6 Real Madrid (La Liga)
May 17, 2015: Espanyol 1-4 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Jan 10, 2015: Real Madrid 3-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
May 17, 2014: Real Madrid 3-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 28, 2014: Real Madrid 1-0 Espanyol (Copa del Rey Quarter-finals)
Jan 21, 2014: Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid (Copa del Rey Quarter-finals)
Last 10 La Liga meetings
Sept 21, 2024: Real Madrid 4-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Mar 11, 2023: Real Madrid 3-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Aug 28, 2022: Espanyol 1-3 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Apr 30, 2022: Real Madrid 4-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Oct 03, 2021: Espanyol 2-1 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Jun 28, 2020: Espanyol 0-1 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Dec 07, 2019: Real Madrid 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 27, 2019: Espanyol 2-4 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Sep 22, 2018: Real Madrid 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Feb 27, 2018: Espanyol 1-0 Real Madrid (La Liga)
Matt Law
