Sunday’s La Liga match between Espanyol and Real Madrid is set to kick off at 3:00 p.m. ET. Espanyol enters the La Liga match as significant underdogs on their home pitch, with a 4.34x payout if they win on PrizePicks Team Picks.
Barcelona can officially win La Liga if Espanyol finds a way to upset Real Madrid on Sunday afternoon. Los Blancos will attempt to remain in the title race without the services of their main man, Kylian Mbappe, who is set to be out for an extended period with a hamstring injury.
Below, we'll break down our Espanyol vs. Real Madrid prediction and picks for Sunday's La Liga match, including the La Liga winner payouts, total goals, and top La Liga picks for PrizePicks today.
Make your picks for Espanyol vs. Real Madrid on PrizePicks now.
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Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Prediction, Picks for La Liga – Sunday, May 3
Sunday’s match versus Espanyol is now a must-win for Real Madrid after an unfortunate result for Alvaro Arbeloa’s squad last Friday afternoon. Real Betis’ 90’+4 equalizer, followed by Barcelona’s ninth and tenth straight wins in La Liga, makes Sunday’s match vs. Espanyol a do-or-die for Real Madrid in regard to La Liga’s title race.
Arbeloa will be without the services of his top goalscorer this season, Mbappe, as well as his top assist-man, Arda Guler, and first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois. The hobbled squad will now travel to Cornellà to take on a struggling Espanyol squad at RCDE Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Espanyol enters this match winless in 2026, drawing or losing 16 straight matches since December. Manolo Gonzalez’s squad has the third-lowest win total at home in La Liga this season, with its last victory at RCDE Stadium coming in early December.
Despite lopsided odds, Espanyol still has a chance to upset a Real Madrid squad that has struggled in recent away matches after starting the season so well on the road. Los Blancos have won just one of their last four La Liga away matches, losing twice and drawing once in that span.
Abreloa will heavily rely on prolific attacker Vinicius Jr. to carry most of the attacking workload, likely alongside some of Madrid’s younger and more inexperienced forwards. Expected starters Gonzalo Garcia and Brahim Diaz have a combined 15 starts in Real Madrid’s 33 La Liga matches this season.
We could expect a gritty matchup when the injury-riddled Real Madrid travels to face an Espanyol squad that has been on a downward trend in the second half of the season. Real Madrid easily handled the Catalan club, 2-0, when they met at the Bernabeu back in September.
Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Spread, Total Goals, Payouts – Sunday, May 3
Real Madrid enters Sunday’s match as road favorites against Real Madrid, returning a 1.63x payout if they win outright, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
Here are the full payouts for the Espanyol vs. Real Madrid game on PrizePicks.
- Winner Payout: Espanyol – 4.34x | Tie – 3.7x | Real Madrid – 1.63x
- Spread: Real Madrid -1.5 (2.7x Payout)
- Total Goals: 2.5 (Over – 1.56x)
- Both Teams to Score: Yes 1.56x | No 2.27x
Play the Espanyol vs. Real Madrid spread or total goals on PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money — available in 35 states!
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Prediction on Total Goals for La Liga – 5/3/26
Here are the key game stats and trends behind our Espanyol vs. Real Madrid prediction on total goals for the La Liga match on Sunday, May 3.
Lock in your Espanyol vs. Real Madrid prediction on PrizePicks before the line moves.
- Real Madrid’s 2.1 goals per game ranks second in La Liga, only to Barcelona. This number slightly drops to 1.8 goals per game in away matches this season.
- Los Blancos are generating 18.1 shots per game, with 7 of them being on target. That number has dropped to just 13.4 in Madrid’s last five away league games.
- Espanyol matches have gone over 2.5 total goals just twice over their last five matches. Gonzalez’s club is averaging just 1.1 goals at home this season.
- Real Madrid had gone over 2.5 total goals in three straight away matches before last week’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis.
- Espanyol is averaging just 2.1 big chances created, missing 1.5 of them per game.
- The Catalans have just nine clean sheets in 33 matches, averaging over 1.5 goals conceded per game. This number slightly drops to 1.3 goals conceded per game at RCDE Stadium.
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Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Projected Lineups for Sunday, May 3
Take a look at the Espanyol vs. Real Madrid projected lineups for today's La Liga match. Lineups are not official and should be confirmed before match start.
Espanyol Lineup vs. Real Madrid: Projected 4-4-2
Goalkeeper: Marko Dmitrovic
Defense: Omar El Hilali, Fernando Calero, Leandro Cabrera, Carlos Romero
Midfield: Tyrhys Dolan, Edu Exposito, Urko Gonzalez, Pere Milla
Forwards: Kike Garcia, Ramon Terrats
Real Madrid Lineup vs. Espanyol: Projected 4-2-3-1
Goalkeeper: Andriy Lumin
Defense: Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Antonio Rudiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfield: Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham
Forwards: Vinicius Jr., Gonzalo Garcia, Brahim Diaz
Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Player Picks, Stats for PrizePicks – 5/3/26
Here are Espanyol vs. Real Madrid picks to target for La Liga on PrizePicks for Sunday, May 3. Today’s La Liga picks include Vinicius Jr. and Marko Dmitrovic.
Real Madrid F Vinicius Jr. vs. Espanyol
Vinicius Jr. Projections via PrizePicks: 0.5 Goal + Assist (Goblin), 3.5 Shots, 6 Attempted Dribbles
- Vini Jr. has the second-most goal contributions in La Liga (18) for Real Madrid, behind Mbappe.
- The left winger has scored in back-to-back matches, bringing his league goal total to 13 in 28 starts.
- The Brazilian attacker averages 2.9 shots per game this season and 3.4 in his last five starts.
- In five La Liga matches without Mbappe this season, Vini is posting 2.2 shots per game.
- Vinicius Jr. ranks second in La Liga in completed dribbles (81), only behind Lamine Yamal.
- The Brazilian is averaging 5.77 attempted dribbles per game for the season, but over 6.2 in his last five across all competitions.
Add Vinicius Jr. to your PrizePicks La Liga Lineup now!
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Espanyol GK Marko Dmitrovic vs. Real Madrid
Marko Dmitrovic Projections via PrizePicks: 4.5 Goalie Saves, 26.5 Passes Attempted, 1.5 Goals Allowed (Goblin)
- Marko Dmitrovic is averaging 3.5 saves per game this season, but over 4 in his last five matches.
- He ranks second in saves per game in La Liga.
- Dmitrovic has the third-highest goals conceded per game (1.5) this season. However, the Serbian keeper has 1 or fewer goals conceded in three of his last four matches.
- Espanyol’s goalkeeper is averaging just under 27 passes attempted per game this season. This number has fallen below 26 over his five matches and below 24 in three of those matches.
Add Marko Dmitrovic to your PrizePicks La Liga Lineup now!
Make Espanyol vs. Real Madrid Picks for La Liga on PrizePicks
Espanyol will look to spoil Real Madrid’s hopes of winning La Liga when they host Los Blancos on Sunday, May 3, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Real Madrid will need strong performances from its reserves to stay alive in the title race, with a potential league-deciding match against Barcelona approaching next week.
Don’t wait until lock — make your Espanyol vs. Real Madrid picks on PrizePicks now and earn real money if you’re right.
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