Karim Benzema is again expected to lead the Real Madrid line when Carlo Ancelotti's side continue their La Liga campaign away to Espanyol on Sunday afternoon.

The France international has been in excellent form for Los Blancos at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, scoring nine times and contributing seven assists in nine appearances in all competitions.

In La Liga, Benzema has eight goals and seven assists in seven outings, and the capital giants will again be looking to the 33-year-old for inspiration against Espanyol.

Real Madrid will enter the match off the back of a shock 2-1 defeat to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League, but they are currently top of La Liga with 17 points to show from seven matches.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how Benzema has fared against Espanyol in the past.

Benzema has faced Espanyol on 17 occasions during his professional career, and the Frenchman's record is exceptional, winning 15 times, drawing once and losing once.

The forward has found the back of the net on eight occasions against the Catalan outfit, in addition to contributing four assists, with seven of his goals coming in La Liga.

Benzema also registered against Espanyol in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey during the 2013-14 campaign, while he starred against the Blue and Whites during their last season in La Liga, scoring once and providing two assists in their two fixtures in 2019-20.

Arguably, the forward's best display against the Catalan side came during the 2018-19 La Liga campaign, when he scored twice in a 4-2 Real Madrid victory at RCDE Stadium.

The fact that Benzema has won 14 of his 16 La Liga matches against Espanyol means that he will be full of confidence heading into Sunday afternoon's affair. body check tags ::