WITH Real Madrid not in La Liga action this weekend, Barcelona have a big opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points over Los Blancos. Here we preview Barcelona's big derby match against Espanyol from the Nou Camp on Sunday, November 3rd.
How the bookies view it: Nothing less than a Barca win expected
Barcelona are as much as 1/14 favourites to win this match at some bookmakers, but are slightly better priced at 1/8 with Bet365. Still, that is overwhelming favouritism for Barca in this Catalan derby, as they seek their fourth win in a row in current La Liga form. With Espanyol hovering just above the drop zone, their 20/1 underdog quote speaks volumes about their chances of banking three points on the weekend.
Recent head-to-head: Barca boss the derby meetings
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw in last season’s corresponding fixture against Espanyol and in the last six meetings are W3 D3 against their local rivals. Still, their unbeaten streak against Espanyol goes back to a 2018 Copa del Rey fixture, and take that out of the picture, Espanyol haven’t claimed a league win over Barcelona since February 2009.
Players to watch: Lewandowski to keep on scoring?
Robert Lewandowski leads the La Liga goalscoring charts by a considerable distance this season. He’s already up to 14 goals in just eleven league appearances and has benefited from head coach Hansi Flick’s attack-minded style. Lewandowski is on a five-match scoring streak in all competitions and has only failed to score in one of his last eight, so he’s an obvious pick for goalscorer options in Barcelona vs Espanyol.
Espanyol don’t have anything that comes close to that kind of scoring power, with Javi Puado their top scorer with three goals in nine appearances. Look for Alejo Veliz though, who scored a hat trick in a midweek cup game, so he may get a run out.
Predicted Lineups
Barca have a few injury concerns with Ferran Torres, Andreas Christensen and Marc-Andre ter Stegen counted out, and they have a new problem for Eric Garcia who could be on the sidelines too. Espanyol will miss Fernando Calero and Edu Exposito through injury.
Barcelona: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski
Espanyol: Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Olivan; Tejero, Kral, Gragera, Carreras; Puado, Veliz
Anything else catches the eye?
Barcelona are looking for their sixth win on the bounce in all competitions and have come to life in attack this season. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal have been a formidable force to be reckoned with and Barcelona's confidence should be through the roof after hammering Real Madrid 4-0 in last weekend’s El Clásico.
Barcelona are averaging over three goals per league game this season and remain unbeaten in 26 league games against Espanyol. So the margin of victory for Barcelona on Sunday could be at least a couple of goals as they look likely to overpower their derby rivals, who aren’t having a good time of things.
Espanyol are averaging under a goal per game and started the weekend just a point clear of the drop zone, with five losses in their last six league outings (W1). Espanyol have posted a D1 L4 record this season against teams starting the weekend in the top six, including 4–1 losses at Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. They could be in for another tough time defensively.
This La Liga match between Barcelona and Espanyol will be played on Nov 3, 2024 and kick off at 15:15. Check below for our tipsters best Barcelona vs Espanyol prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
