Barcelona face city rivals Espanyol as they look to keep up the pressure on Los Blancos.
Form
The Catalans seem to have responded well to their disappointing exit from the Champions League with two fine wins. Firstly, Barcelona won in El Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu has re-energised the battle for the league title, and they then destroyed Osasuna in midweek.
Los Periquitos are in mixed form with two wins in their last five games. Their most recent game was a disappointing draw with Sporting Gijón, and their last game at home was a loss against Atlético Madrid. Prior to that, they did manage consecutive wins against Alavés and Leganés.
Squads
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Andrés Iniesta is unavailable for the match due to some pain in his right leg abductor muscle. Jérémy Mathieu, Rafinha and Aleix Vidal are all still unavailable. Jordi Masip has been left out of the squad by Luis Enrique, but Carles Aleñá has been included as he continues his transition to the first team. Neymar returns from his three match suspension. Espanyol have a few injuries to deal with as well. Álvaro Vázquez, Salva Sevilla and Hernán Pérez are all unavailable for this match, but they are boosted by the return of Óscar Duarte.
Next: 3 Things We Learned: FC Barcelona vs Osasuna
History
The Blaugrana have dominated the recent history of this fixture with nine wins as well as a draw in the last ten games. Espanyol haven’t won a competitive fixture against Barça since 2009, which reflects the one-sidedness of the fixture. In terms of goals, Barcelona have scored 26 whereas Espanyol have only scored three in the last 10 games.
Playing Style
Naturally, this match will be a feisty affair due to the city bragging rights being at stake. Combine this with the fact that Barça are much better technically, means that Espanyol are likely to be very physical. They will do this in order to break up Barcelona’s passing play and disrupt their control over the game.
The absence of Iniesta is a big blow due to the influence that he is able to exert on big games. Without him, Enrique is likely to bring in André Gomes, so a 3-4-3 diamond formation is the most probable formation due to the added stability that it brings. Using this formation benefits the midfield because the added defensive cover means they can focus more on their attacking responsibilities.
Neymar is back from suspension, and this is likely to be one of the key factors in this match. The fact that he missed three games with one of them being El Clásico means he will be raring to go for this match. His return and the fact that the majority of the first team is available means that Barcelona should have more than enough firepower to take down their city rivals.
Prediction: RCD Espanyol 1-3 FC Barcelona
Predicted Lineup
Sergi Roberto instead of Paco Alcácer is a possibility.