Prediction: Espanyol vs Barcelona

Prediction: Barcelona win

Best Odds: 22/31

Bookmaker: 888sport

Spanish football is back once again this weekend with a string of exciting fixtures up and down the top flight of La Liga. The most intriguing, in our view, will see old rivals Espanyol and Barcelona reignite their derby fire once more at the RCDE Stadium. With the two teams, as always, heading in different directions, you’d think it’ll be easy to say what’s going to happen; but that’s not how enemies conduct themselves in the beautiful game.

Espanyol

Espanyol fans will just be happy to be back in the big time but it must be said that they’ve lost a bit of their killer edge in the last few weeks. They need to find something fresh to hang their hat on in the weeks to come because if they don’t, they could quickly find themselves locked into a relegation scrap – which would be a shame after all of their hard work.

Team News

Gil is out through suspension with the only other worry for the hosts being Calero, who is a fitness doubt.

Barcelona

Xavi Hernandez knew it was going to take time for him to even come close to turning Barcelona’s first team squad around, but the January transfer window certainly seemed to help them stem the flow. They’ve got a mix of experienced stars and upcoming talent, which should be enough to see them qualify for the Champions League again – at the very least.

Team News

Alves is suspended with Umtiti, Fati, Roberto and Balde all being injured. Elsewhere, the following players are listed as doubtful: Lenglet, Garcia and Depay.

Factors to Consider

• In their last meeting back in November, Barcelona beat Espanyol 1-0.
• Espanyol have drawn two and lost four of their last six games.
• Barcelona have won three, drawn one and lost two of their last six games.
• Espanyol have scored seven goals and conceded 13 in their last six games.
• Barcelona have scored 12 goals and conceded 10 in their last six games.

Conclusion

We can’t see this being the classic many local fans would be hoping for but at the same time, we do expect a lot of intensity. Both sides are hungry for what could be a huge three points but Barcelona, with their new look side, we think they’ll just about edge out the win. There’s only going to be one goal in it and that will likely come early in the second half, with Barca holding on for the 1-0.

Prediction: Barcelona win

Best Odds: 22/31

Bookmaker: 888sport