Official: Real Madrid's starting lineup against Espanyol – Vinicius on the bench

Real Madrid will be looking to close the gap on arch-rivals Barcelona when they face RCD Espanyol in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu in less than two hours.

After Carlo Ancelotti and Co. have recorded three consecutive victories in all competitions, they go into the game with confidence and momentum.

Before kick-off, the manager announced Real Madrid's starting lineup that will face the newly promoted team at the Bernabeu.

Ancelotti has made some big changes to the team that played in the midweek UCL match against VfB Stuttgart.

The biggest of all is that Vinicius Jr. is benched in favor of Arda Guler in attack. Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo Goes retain their places in the team.

Meanwhile, captain Luka Modric starts in midfield alongside Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde for The Royal.

Modrić's substitution comes as Aurelien Tchouameni is allowed to start at centre-back, while Ancelotti has opted to rest Antonio Rüdiger. Eder Militao returns to the team after starting on the bench during the week.

Fran Garcia replaces Ferland Mendy at left-back, while Dani Carvajal keeps his place on the right. Thibaut Courtois, the MVP of the midweek match, remains in goal.