Barcelona will be looking to make it six victories in a row in Spain’s top flight when they welcome Espanyol to Camp Nou for the Barcelona derby on Saturday afternoon
Date/Time : 31 December, 21:00 CET
Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz
Xavi’s side are currently top of the La Liga table, two points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, while Espanyol occupy 16th position, just one point above the relegation zone.
Barcelona have won 12, drawn one and lost one of their 14 La Liga matches this season to collect 37 points, which has left them top of the table, two points clear of second-placed Real Madrid.
The Catalan outfit have scored 33 goals in La Liga this season, which is the joint-most alongside Real Madrid, while they have comfortably the best defensive record with just five conceded.
Xavi’s team were last in action on November 8, recording a 2-1 victory over Osasuna, with Pedri and Raphinha scoring in the second half after David Garcia had made the breakthrough in the sixth minute of the clash.
Barcelona could be second by the time that this match kicks off, with Real Madrid facing Real Valladolid on Friday night, but they will fancy their chances of ending the year top of the table.
Blaugrana have been victorious in their last five league matches, conceding just once during that run, and their next La Liga game after this one is away to Atletico Madrid on January 8.
The Catalan side will be in Copa del Rey action against Intercity on January 4, while they will take on Real Betis in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup on January 11.
Espanyol were last in La Liga action against Villarreal on November 9, suffering a 1-0 defeat, while they have not been victorious in Spain’s top flight since a 1-0 success over Real Valladolid in the middle of October.
The White and Blues have played twice in the Copa del Rey since their last league game, though, beating both Rincon and Atletico Paso to progress in the competition.
Espanyol will be back in Copa del Rey action against Celta Vigo on January 3, while their first league game of 2023 will be at home to Girona on January 7.
Diego Martinez’s side are currently 16th in Spain’s top flight, having picked up just 12 points from their opening 14 matches of the campaign, which has left them one point clear of the relegation zone.
Espanyol have only won twice in the league this term, which is the joint-second worst record in terms of victories behind Elche, who are yet to triumph in Spain’s top flight in 2022-23.
Periquitos held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw when the two teams last locked horns in February, but they have not beaten their Catalan rivals in Spain’s top flight since February 2009.
Gerard Pique obviously won’t be in contention for any more Barcelona matches after announcing his surprise retirement on the eve of the World Cup break.
Robert Lewandowski hasn’t breathed a word about wrapping up his career but will miss the next three La Liga matches through suspension after collecting his first Barcelona red card against Osasuna in November.
Martinez won’t be able to call upon Dani Gomez who was shown a straight red card during Espanyol’s first-round Copa del Rey tie against CD Rincon in November.
The freqeunt substitute Keidi Bare is suffering from a ligament injury while left-back Adria Pedrosa has been sidelined with a hernia for the entire first act of La Liga.
Barcelona vs Espanyol H2H Results (Last 5)
Barcelona: 3 Wins
Espanyol: 0 Wins
Draws: 2
Current Form (Last 5)
Barcelona: LWWWW
Espanyol: DDLWW
Barcelona vs Espanyol head to head and key facts :
- Barcelona’s two rivals meet for the 215th time in official matches. As expected, the hosts were the best team in these games with 125 wins. The visitors have beaten the Catalans 45 times and 44 matches have ended in a draw.
- Barcelona are unbeaten in their last eight matches against Espanyol, with five wins.
- In La Liga, the hosts are unbeaten against visitors in 24 matches, the last time in 2009 at the Camp Nou.
- Barcelona have kept six clean sheets in their last seven home matches against Espanyol in all competitions.
- Espanyol have not won 19 of their last 21 La Liga games.
- No team has won more games (12) than the hosts in La Liga this season, while Espanyol have the fewest wins (2) of any team apart from bottom-placed Elche, who are winless in 14 league games so far.
- Barcelona have the best offensive and defensive record in La Liga this season with 33 goals scored and 5 goals conceded in 14 games.
Probable Lineups:
Barcelona (4-3-3):
Ter Stegen; Roberto, Kounde, Christensen, Balde; Pedri, Busquets, Gavi; Raphinha, Fati, Dembele.
Espanyol (4-2-3-1):
Lecomte; Gil, S Gomez, Calero, Olivan; Exposito, Souza; Braithwaite, Darder, Puado; Joselu.