MADRID, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- The second Jose Mourinho era at Real Madrid officially begins Saturday night when the Portuguese takes his side to face Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona.
Mourinho returns to a club that has undergone a significant rebuild over the summer, with Bernardo Silva, Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, Carlos Espi, Marc Cucurella and Yan Diomande all joining the club. The club broke its transfer record to sign 19-year-old Cote d'Ivoire international Diomande.
However, not all of the new arrivals are expected to start immediately. Some only recently joined their teammates following the World Cup, while Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni are also likely to be eased into action after lengthy campaigns this summer.
Mourinho can take encouragement from the form of Brahim Diaz, who impressed during preseason and provides a reliable alternative, while Fede Valverde and Vinicius Jr. returned early to training after Uruguay and Brazil were eliminated from the World Cup.
Arda Guler caught the eye during the summer and is expected to feature in midfield, while Trent Alexander-Arnold could start at right back with Alvaro Carreras is likely to play on the left.
Espanyol endured a turbulent 2025-26 campaign. A strong first half of the season saw the club climb as high as fifth, but a dramatic collapse left it fighting to avoid relegation before eventually finishing 11th.
Manolo Gonzalez's side made an ideal start to the new season last weekend with a 3-0 home victory over Levante, but will be without central defender Leandro Cabrera, who is serving a suspension carried over from last season after striking a VAR monitor.
Unai Nunez is expected to continue in defense and faces the difficult task of helping contain Real Madrid's attack, with Kylian Mbappe unlikely to start but expected to feature at some stage. ■