Espanyol vs Barcelona Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

Barcelona will be aiming to extend their winning run to three games in La Liga when they take on local rivals Espanyol on Sunday.

Following a morale-boosting 4-2 victory against Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona will be aiming to continue their winning momentum in La Liga when they lock horns with Espanyol. Widely renowned as Derbi Barcelona, Sunday’s encounter will see two Catalonian clubs battle it out for three points, albeit for very contrasting reasons.

The visitors Barcelona are heading into this game on the back of two consecutive victories that have propelled the club into the top four. However, with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid breathing down their necks, there is absolutely no margin for error for Xavi Hernandez’s men, who had secured a narrow 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture between the two teams.

It was the first game in charge of the new coach after he had replaced Ronald Koeman following the win over Elche. Barcelona have progressed well under the leadership of their former midfielder, but it will be imperative for the team to continue that progress this weekend.

As for Espanyol, they are coming on the back of a wretched run of form. The Catalans are winless in their four matches in the calendar year, losing three of them. With just one point so far this year, the hosts have dropped to 13th in the league table and could fall further should they once again slump to a defeat on Sunday.

Espanyol have not beaten Barcelona in La Liga in almost 13 years, with their most recent victory against the Blaugrana coming way back in February 2009. Two of the current Barcelona first-teamers in Dani Alves and Gerard Pique, were involved in that game, along with coach Xavi.

However, Barcelona are weaker than ever right now, which means it could be an excellent opportunity for Vicente Moreno’s men to break the club’s 13-year slump and get his team back to winning ways.

Team News & Tactics

Espanyol

Vicente Moreno will be boosted by the return of the club’s marquee goalscorer Raul De Tomas. The former Real Madrid starlet is back from suspension and should spearhead the attack for Espanyol.

He is expected to be accompanied by a creative trifecta involving Oscar Melendo, Javi Puado and Tonny Vilhena, who scored the only goal in the 2-1 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the last game. The Dutchman is hoping to continue his scoring run against Barcelona and will be tasked with the responsibility of providing width in the Espanyol frontline.

There is no reason for Moreno to shift from his tried and tested 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning the onus is once again on Manu Morlanes and ex-Barcelona starlet Sergi Darder to keep things tight in midfield. They will be responsible for breaking up the opposition’s play in the middle of the park and denying their visitors from moving the ball quickly from one end to another.

Moving into defence, Espanyol are missing out on influential right-back Oscar Gil due to suspension. Another ex-Barcelona star in Aleix Vidal will be asked to deputise at right-back, with Adria Pedrosa occupying the opposite flank.

The two are more likely to operate in a traditional role of helping out the two central defenders in Leandro Cabrera and Sergi Gomez, knowing the opposition may come hard at them, especially with all the January reinforcements in the attacking department. It could be a busy day at the office for goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Lopez; Vidal, Gomez, Cabrera, Pedrosa; Darder, Morlanes; Melendo, Puado, Vilhena; De Tomas

Barcelona

Xavi Hernandez has no reason to tinker with his successful central defensive combination of Gerard Pique and Ronald Araujo, who is seemingly establishing himself as the leader of the backline. His performance could be critical as Barcelona look to put a stop to Espanyol’s attacking endeavours this weekend.

Elsewhere in defence, Barcelona are heading into this game without the services of Dani Alves, who has been ruled out due to a suspension. Sergino Dest is in line to replace the veteran at right-back, whereas Jordi Alba remains a guaranteed starter on the opposite flank.

The collective attacking work rate and width provided by the two full-backs could go a long way in helping Barcelona stretch the opposition wide. It could ultimately lead to more spaces in central areas for midfielders such as Sergio Busquets, Pedri and Frenkie de Jong, as they look to dominate the proceedings in the middle of the park.

Things get a bit more exciting in the attacking third, with Xavi spoilt for choices. Ousmane Dembele remains an option out wide, but the Barcelona coach could deploy an attacking setup comprising solely of January signings in the form of Adama Traore, Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The three offer a unique combination of speed, strength and positional awareness that could help Barcelona break the shackles of the Espanyol defence.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Dest, Pique, Araujo, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, de Jong; Adama, Aubameyang, Torres

Key Stats

• Espanyol have suffered 101 defeats in their 173 matches against Barcelona in La Liga, the second-worst record of defeats by a team against a single opponent in the competition’s history after Espanyol themselves’ losing to Real Madrid 104 times.
• Barcelona have now gone 23 games unbeaten in a row against Espanyol in La Liga and could record the best unbeaten run by any team in the competition’s history (also 23 games for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid between 2000 and 2023).
• Barcelona have not lost any of their last 13 away games against Espanyol in La Liga, including their 11 at RCDE Stadium in the competition. They are the away team with most league games at the stadium without losing.
• Espanyol are winless in their last four La Liga games, losing their last two. They have both scored and conceded in their last seven games in the competition, their longest such run since April 2016.
• Barcelona have won their last two games in La Liga, against Alaves and Atletico Madrid, and have not won three in a row in the competition since a run of six between February and April 2021.

Player to Watch

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Embed from Getty Images

In this weekend’s encounter against Espanyol, all eyes will be on Barcelona’s marquee January signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he looks to make his first start for the Blaugrana.

Aubameyang comes to Barcelona on the back of a truly impressive track record of 92 goals in just 163 competitive matches for Arsenal. He also has 98 Bundesliga goals to his name, making him a potential menace for the opposition defence.

Indeed, Aubameyang’s positional sense, coupled with his speed and ability to sniff goalscoring opportunities, could be a potential X-factor for Barcelona, as they lock horns with their Catalan rivals this weekend.

Prediction

Espanyol 1-3 Barcelona

Barcelona are heading into this contest full of confidence, having secured quality players in January, which was reflected in their 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid earlier this month. The Blaugrana are looking menacing, especially with key players like Pedri returning from their injury woes.

And with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set to make his full debut, we can only expect a much stronger display from the visitors. Hence, we predict a comfortable victory for Xavi Hernandez’s troops this weekend, although it won’t be surprising to see Espanyol breaching their defensive lines at least once.