Espanyol vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Barcelona will face Catalan rivals Espanyol for the fourth time this season when they meet at the RCDE Stadium on Monday.

The Blaugrana won 5-0 when the pair met at the Camp Nou in September, and overcame a 1-0 deficit in the Copa del Rey quarter-final to win 2-1 over two legs last month.

Read on for a closer look ahead to the latest clash, but first, here are the viewing details you need to catch the game:

Date: Sunday, February 4

Time: 3:15 p.m. GMT/10:15 a.m. ET

TV: Sky Sports (UK), beIN Sports USA

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), beIN Sports Connect USA

Team News

According to The Sun's Helen Rowe-Willcocks, Thomas Vermaelen and Ousmane Dembele will remain absent due to muscle and hamstring injuries, respectively, but Barcelona are otherwise injury and suspension free for the match.

Similarly, Rowe-Willcocks reported Espanyol are without injury worries and should have a full complement of players available to them.

Preview

Barca's defeat to Espanyol in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final was the first they had suffered in any competition since losing to Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup at the start of the campaign.

Ernesto Valverde's men have otherwise proved to be exceptionally resilient, so it was perhaps unsurprising they were able to turn around the tie.

Barca improved in the second leg, though as Grup 14's Rafael Hernandez noted, they're typically able to do so over the course of a single game thanks to Valverde's management:

It's something Espanyol will need to be wary of if they're to come out on top. In Barca's last La Liga outing, they handed Alaves a shock lead through some poor defending, per Yahoo Sport's Andrew Gaffney:

However, the Catalan giants were able to produce a late comeback to win the match despite a spirited performance from the side battling relegation.

Valverde's ability to change things up in response to Barca's opponents is a contributing factor, though it also helps to have Lionel Messi in superlative form.

By his own standards, the Argentinian had endured a relatively poor game against Alaves, but he was still able to fire home a late free-kick to win the match.

Dugout demonstrated the impressive run he's enjoying:

Espanyol should take heart from their recent success against Barcelona at home, but replicating it will be difficult.

The Periquitos have lost their last two games and have scored just 18 goals in La Liga—only three teams have netted fewer—so it will take a remarkable effort for them to get something out of this match, even at home.