Barcelona look to continue their good start to the La Liga season with their first Catalan Derby match against local rivals Espanyol.
Barcelona have begun the new La Liga season with a winning start. They’ve won their first two league matches against Real Betis and Alaves, both with the same scoreline of 2-0. The Blaugrana are in a good position coming off of the international break. Now, they look to continue their success against a very familiar Catalan rival. Barca has great rivalries with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but this weekends match against Espanyol will be a very interesting one.
There are many headlines going into this match on the Barca side. Andres Iniesta’s future is still up in the air as he begins to age. Lionel Messi went through a tough time during the international break as Argentina struggled. However, the biggest story line as Barca return to action is the potential debut of Ousmane Dembele. The Frenchmen was linked to the team and eventually signed with Barca during the last days of the summer transfer window.
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The €147 million fee paid for Dembele turned a lot of heads. However, it had to be done after a tough window for Barca. Despite all of these success with the Blaugrana, superstar forward Neymar decided to leave Barca for PSG on a record €222 million fee. This left Barca searching for answers. Hopefully, Dembele is the start of the solutions to help the team be successful this season.
Espanyol have started this season with only one point out of six. They’ve only managed three draws in their last 16 league matches against Barcelona. However, they will always be up for a match against the mighty Blaugrana. Ernesto Valverde’s men must continue to take care of business against teams they should get three points against.
Next: Projected Started 11: Barcelona vs. Espanyol
Overall, Barcelona fans have a lot to look forward to over the next week. The Catalan Derby is sure to excite the fans at Camp Nou. After that, the Champions League group stage begins with a tilt against a familiar foe in Italian giants Juventus. However, the team can’t look ahead just yet. We will see if Barca can continue their winning start.