Vinícius Júnior heads into Saturday evening's LaLiga clash against Espanyol brimming with confidence. The Real Madrid star has made a habit of finding the net against the Catalan side, and his coach has never tasted defeat against them.
Real Madrid face Espanyol in the second round of LaLiga, their first match of the season after the opening-round fixture against Real Sociedad was postponed.
Opta statistics show Vinícius has scored 5 goals in 11 matches against Espanyol in LaLiga, 3 of them across his six visits to the RCDE Stadium, which hosts today's game.
No other team in the competition has conceded more away goals to the Brazilian. He has also netted 3 apiece at three other grounds.
Roberto Fernández tells a story of his own. The Espanyol striker has scored 3 goals in his last two LaLiga matches, one more than he managed in his previous 22 appearances in the competition. That tally includes his second league brace, struck last round against Levante.
Read also:
In numbers: the ghost of Arbeloa haunts Mourinho at the start of LaLiga
Mourinho: 6 matches without defeat
José Mourinho has not lost any of his six matches against Espanyol in LaLiga during his first spell with Real Madrid, winning 4 and drawing two.
Against no other opponent in the competition has Mourinho gone unbeaten across so many games, though the figure also reaches 6 matches against five other sides.
Manolo González cannot say the same. The Espanyol coach has lost 3 of his 4 matches against Real Madrid in LaLiga, with just a single win.
Only Barcelona and Villarreal have beaten him more often in the competition, with 4 defeats apiece. Real Betis have also seen him off three times.
You can discuss the topics and news in greater depth on the Kooora forums