Heard the one about the manager who is younger than the team he's facing? Thanks to Opta for this one: For the first time in Bundesliga history, the average age of one team is greater than the age of the opponents' manager. 

Darmstadt are the team of oldies (average age: 29 years, 224 days), Hoffenheim's Julian Nagelsmann is the youthful manager (29 years, 210 days).

Image source, EPA

Real win another corner...

But Toni Kroos' delivery is easily cleared from the area.

This time Real go close from a corner.

German midfielder Toni "here, there and everywhere" Kroos plays the ball in which finds recalled defender Pepe who heads wide from close range.

Real upping the pressure on their home turf.

It's half-time in our five 14:30 GMT Bundesliga games. Here are the scores:

Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Wolfsburg

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Ingolstadt

Hertha Berlin 1-0 Bayern Munich

Hoffenheim 0-0 Darmstadt

Mainz 0-2 Werder Bremen

Borussia Dortmund's Westfalonstadion looks different for today's match against Wolfsburg - it is without its Yellow Wall.

The club have been forced to close the stand that houses the 'wall' - a bank of Dortmund fans - for one game because of trouble before and during the match against RB Leipzig on 4 February.

Germany's football association also fined Dortmund £85,000.

Image source, AP

Espanyol have half a chance.

A corner ball finds the head of David Lopez who nods over from a central position in the box.

There is not a great deal to report in the opening few minutes.

Espanyol's Papakouly Diop gave away a free-kick but Real did not make anything of Raphael Varane's launch from defence.

We are under way at the Bernabeu.

This will confuse you if you're using the BBC Sport app. But you can see what we're getting at if you view it via the browser or the ol' fashioned desktop.

Anyway, the players on the rather lush looking 2017 Bernabeu pitch are having a last chat among themselves before kick-off.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier, fourth-place Atletico Madrid won their first game at Sporting Gijon since 2008, thanks to Kevin Gameiro.

The second-half substitute scored a hat-trick in five minutes (FIVE!) to end the jinx and help his side close the gap on third-place Sevilla to one point.

Yannick Carrasco scored within 20 seconds of restart in the second half to give Atletico the lead before Sergio Alvarez levelled two minutes later.

Gameiro came on in the 61st minute and scored his first in the 79th minute - tucking in from Antoine Griezmann's deft reverse pass.

The £28m Frenchman grabbed his second with a low-angled strike before completing his hat-trick with a near-identical strike in the 84th minute.

Bayern Munich were imperious as they demolished Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the Bundesliga leaders are having a tougher time of it at sixth-placed Hertha Berlin. Bayern trail 1-0 in the German capital, with Vedad Ibisevic touching in Per Skjelbred's free-kick from close range.

That's one of five 14:30 GMT kick-offs in the Bundesliga; Borussia Dortmund, in fourth, lead struggling Wolfsburg 1-0 through a Jeffrey Bruma own goal, and Werder Bremen are 2-0 up at Mainz. Bottom club Darmstadt are goalless at Hoffenheim, who are fifth.

Biggest surprise so far, though, is arguably the work of next-to-bottom Ingolstadt, 1-0 up away to third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who are unbeaten at home.

Image source, Rex Features

... on the bench. He'll no doubt make his first appearance for the side in 88 days.

Zinedine Zidane makes seven changes from the XI that started in the 3-1 win over Napoli on Wednesday.

Marcelo and Casemiro take a breather on the bench with keeper Keylor Navas, midfielder Luka Modric and striker Karim Benzema omitted from the squad altogether.

Including internationals, Real forward Cristiano Ronaldo plays his 30th game of the season.

Real Madrid: Casilla, Carvajal, Pepe, Varane, Nacho; Isco, Kroos, Kovacic; Lucas, Morata, Ronaldo

Espanyol: Diego Lopez; Diego Reyes, Duarte, David Lopez, Aaron; Javi Fuego, Diop, Jurado, Piatti, Reyes, Gerard.

Image source, Getty Images

How they must have laughed.

Crissy Ron and the boys will have had a right chuckle at Barca's capitulation the other day in Paris.

The downside of that is that they will now put everything into their efforts to retain the La Liga title - starting with victory over struggling Leganes on Sunday.

Back to today. Leaders Real - a point more and with two games in hand on second-place Barca - face ninth-place Espanyol with the added bonus of the return of Gareth Bale.

The Welshman is set to show his face on the pitch for the first time since having surgery on ankle tendon damage suffered in November.

Is he in the starting XI or on the subs bench?

Full team news coming right up...