(Football news) Real Madrid have won their first two La Liga games but they now face a tough challenge against Espanyol away from home. Carlo Ancelotti will be missing Nacho who is out with an injury but Toni Kroos and Rodrygo will be back. In the first two games itself Ancelotti has rotated a lot of his players which is something that wasn't seen last season. Newcomers Antonio Rudiger and Aurélien Tchouaméni have already made a positive impact. Reports in Spain claim that Florentino Perez has asked Ancelotti to not play Marco Asensio in an attempt to force his departure this season instead of losing him for free next summer. It will be interesting to see if Asensio gets some minutes in the game against Espanyol.

Barcelona played a lackluster goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano but then recovered well with a thumping win over Real Sociedad. Xavi will be welcoming the return of Sergio Busquets who is back after his suspension. According to reports, Jules Kounde is also set to be registered and could make his debut for the club. Ansu Fati was a game changer against Espanyol and has definitely done enough to make his way into the starting line-up. The question is who will make way for the Spanish wonderkid. Barcelona are currently trying to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Memphis Depay, therefore it wouldn't be a surprise if the two are not in the matchday squad.

Atletico Madrid were handed a tough defeat at home against Villarreal last week. Diego Simeone will be looking to get back on track and win away at Valencia. Nahuel Molina will miss the game after his red card against Villarreal. Stefan Savic on the other hand is yet to recover from his injury. Atleti made a promising start to the league campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win away at Getafe. The Rojiblancos will be hoping that the defeat last week was just a blip. Atleti have a good squad this season and they will be looking to challenge for the title which they couldn't do last season.

Also read: Carlo Ancelotti named UEFA Men's Coach of the Year