Image source: Getty Images
2025-26 Spanish La Liga
Matchday 34
Espanyol v Real Madrid
RCDE Stadium
Cornella de Llobregat, Spain
Sunday, 3 May 2026
Kick-off is at 21h00
Real Madrid will be looking to keep their fast-fading title hopes alive when they lock horns with Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium on Sunday, May 3 in the late kick-off.
Los Blancos lost more ground to La Liga leaders Barcelona after being held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis on April 24 - the third time in four games they had slipped up, making it their worst month of the season.
Alvaro Arbeloa's side trail the Blaugrana by 11 points with just 15 left to play for and soon the gap will become unassailable.
Arbeloa's tenure has been rocky from day one after Real were beaten 3-2 by Albacete in the Copa del Ray round of 16 in his first game in charge.
The Spanish giants have also dropped points in the league on five occasions since Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm in January, with four of those ending in defeat.
Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
The Parakeets have displayed relegation form in 2026 and would be in the bottom three had they not won 10 matches in the first half of the campaign.
Manolo Gonzalez's side continued their winless start to the year with a 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened Levante on April 27 which saw them drop down to 13th place.
The Catalan outfit have taken just six points out of a possible 48 since the turn of the year and they're not mathematically safe yet with a five-point cushion to the drop zone.
Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
Arbeloa pointed to two incidents in the game against Betis which cost them victory - a penalty that was turned down when Ricardo Rodriguez handled the ball and a foul on Ferland Mendy in the lead-up to Hector Bellerin's stoppage-time equaliser.
"For me, it's very clear. It doesn't take much in situations like this, where you're using your body, just a little destabilisation, and you go to the ground," he said,
"But for that, you need to understand football, which I believe is a problem as many people, especially those who have to decide on these kinds of situations, neither know nor understand it.
"It's clear that we've suffered another disappointment in the final minutes, as has happened to us many times before, and it's a result that I think we didn't deserve because we had chances.
"There's also a very clear penalty in the first half that I think could have allowed us to close out the match."
Head-to-Head (Last Five La Liga Meetings)
Matches - 5
Espanyol wins - 1
Real Madrid wins - 4
Draws - 0
La Liga Matchday 34 fixtures:
Friday, May 1
21h00: Girona v Real Mallorca
Saturday, May 2
14h00: Villarreal v Levante
16h15: Valencia v Atletico Madrid
18h30: Alaves v Athletic Bilbao
21h00: Osasuna v Barcelona
Sunday, May 3
14h00: Celta Vigo v Elche
16h15: Getafe v Rayo Vallecano
18h30: Real Betis v Real Oviedo
21h00: Espanyol v Real Madrid
Monday, May 4
21h00: Sevilla v Real Sociedad
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