Barcelona and Espanyol are locked on 17 points in the La Liga table as the two rivals prepare to do battle at Camp Nou on Saturday night.
Ninth-place Barca sit just ahead of eleventh-place Espanyol on goal difference. It is also worth noting that Barca have a game in hand over their foes.
Tuesdays with Xavi🔊 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒏 🔊 pic.twitter.com/pVboPaOtDj— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 17, 2021
Tuesdays with Xavi🔊 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑶𝒏 🔊 pic.twitter.com/pVboPaOtDj
Barcelona have only managed to win four of their 12 La Liga games this season, registering five draws and three losses in the process.
They head into Saturday’s Derbi Barceloní on a four-game winless run in the league, having recorded two draws and two losses since their last victory.
Ronald Koeman paid the price for Barca’s poor start to the campaign. The Dutchman was sacked last month, with club legend Xavi taking the reins.
When you look at the bigger picture, Barcelona have only lost six of their previous 40 matches. It isn’t all doom and gloom after all.
However, if Xavi wants to get the club back to the top of the European game, he will need to make some drastic changes.
Having gained promotion for the second tier last season, it’s fair to say that Espanyol have exceeded expectations since returning to the top flight.
They newcomers have only lost four of their 13 league games this term, picking up four wins and five draws along the way.
Espanyol head into Saturday’s clash on an impressive run of just one defeat in their previous six La Liga encounters.
It is also worth pointing out that only four teams in the division have conceded more goals than Espanyol this season.
Head-to-head: Espanyol haven’t beaten Barcelona since 2018. Since then, Barca have claimed four wins and two draws against their rivals.
Five of the previous 11 Derbi Barcelonís have dished up over 3.5 goals, so we are likely to see a high-scoring encounter at Camp Nou this time around.
Team news: Barcelona have an extensive injury list at the moment, with Sergio Aguero, Pedri, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele among the absentees.
As for Espanyol, they will be without central midfielder Keidi Bare as he continues to recover from a muscle injury.
With Barcelona struggling and Espanyol enjoying an impressive run of form recently, the visitors could frustrate the hosts at Camp Nou.
With that in mind, Forbet predicts that Barca and Espanyol will play out a thrilling high-scoring draw on Saturday.