Barcelona vs. Espanyol: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
The disappointment of not being in another UEFA Champions League final was probably only heightened for Barcelona this week once they saw that it will be contested by their two La Liga title rivals, but on the plus side they might now think that both Atletico and Real Madrid’s focuses lie elsewhere.
With Luis Enrique and Barca just two wins away from a second successive domestic title, the next hurdle for his team to pass comes in the form of a Catalonia derby, with Espanyol making the short trip to the Camp Nou still not mathematically safe from relegation.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
They are likely to be so soon, though, even if they lose here, something that they are extremely likely to do given that you have to go back 18 games to find their last victory over Barcelona.
The hosts will scent another three points, and understandably so.
Date: Sunday, May 8
Time: 4 p.m. GMT / 11 a.m. ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona
TV Info: Sky Sports 2
Live Stream: Sky Sports
Last 6 Results
Barcelona
Lost 1-0 vs. Real Sociedad
Lost 2-0 vs. Atletico Madrid
Lost 2-1 vs. Valencia
Won 8-0 vs. Deportivo
Won 6-0 vs. Sporting Gijon
Won 2-0 vs. Real Betis
Espanyol
Drew 1-1 vs. Malaga
Lost 3-1 vs. Atletico Madrid
Lost 2-1 vs. Levante
Drew 1-1 vs. Celta Vigo
Lost 4-0 vs. Las Palmas
Won 1-0 vs. Sevilla
Team News
Barcelona
With no other distractions and just one game a week at the moment, there would appear to be no severe outfield selection dilemmas for Luis Enrique, who will again wind up his big hitters and watch them go.
The only change is likely to see Marc-Andre ter Stegen come in for the injured Claudio Bravo, who went off at Betis last weekend.
Other than that, the same XI which began last weekend will start what is Barca’s final home game of the season, and a final chance for home supporters to wish their side luck ahead of what they’ll expect to be a title-clinching visit to Granada and the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla at the Vicente Calderon the following week.
Possible XI: Ter Stegen, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Rakitic, Neymar, Messi, Suarez.
Espanyol
Last weekend’s win over a Sevilla side with their minds on the UEFA Europa League could hardly have come at a better time for Espanyol, who are as good as assured to be playing in this fixture again next season.
Constantin Galca’s men were close to being sucked into the dogfight at the bottom before those three points, but now they’ve got them they’ll see this game as a possibility of some bonus points, even if they are extremely unlikely to pick them up.
Anaitz Arbilla and Abraham Gonzalez are both still out injured.
Possible XI: Lopez, O. Duarte, Roco, Gonzalez, Correa, R. Duarte, Diop, Sanchez, Perez, Asensio, Caicedo.
Key Players
Barcelona: Ivan Rakitic
As pointed out on these pages in midweek, Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic has a tendency to get the party started for Barcelona, with nine of his 17 goals for the club coming as the first of the game—including last weekend’s opener at Real Betis and his strike against Juventus in last season’s Champions League final.
His ability to get beyond the magical front three and into the penalty area is a crucial one for his club, and if he can get the opening goal here a win would surely follow.
Espanyol: Oscar Duarte
An impressive performer in the Costa Rica side that defied expectation and reached the quarter-finals of the last World Cup, Oscar Duarte might see any sort of positive result as a similar achievement here given that Barca are closing in on the title.
A no-nonsense defender formerly of Club Brugge, how he performs in the face of constant attacking pressure is likely to have a big say on how Espanyol fare.
Odds (via Odds Shark)
Barcelona—1/9
Espanyol—32/1
Draw—8/1
