Espanyol vs Barcelona

The 174th edition of ‘Derbi Barceloní’ in La Liga pits underperforming Espanyol against high-flying Barcelona at the RCDE Stadium.

Espanyol head into this round in the midst of a rough patch, having lost three of their four La Liga outings in 2022 (D1), conceding 2+ goals in all four matches. What’s more, ‘Los Periquitos’ have suffered back-to-back league defeats at home after going unbeaten in their previous seven top-flight fixtures at the RCDE Stadium beforehand (W6, D1). However, they’ve been extremely fun to watch of late, with each of their last seven La Liga games seeing both teams on the scoresheet, all of which also featured over 2.5 total goals. Scoring the opening goal would not guarantee success for Espanyol here, as Vicente Moreno’s men have dropped more La Liga points after breaking the deadlock (15) than any other side in the competition this season (GP12 – W6, D3, L3).

In the meantime, an eye-catching January transfer window campaign inspired Barcelona to an overwhelming 4-2 win over bitter rivals Atletico Madrid last time out, taking their unbeaten run in La Liga to seven matches (W4, D3). Xavi’s men have now won two consecutive league fixtures and could make it three top-flight victories in a row for the first time since a run of six between February and April 2021. Adding to Barca’s confidence, they are unbeaten in their last 13 away La Liga meetings with Espanyol (W7, D6) while they’ve yet to lose a top-flight fixture at the RCDE Stadium. Home and away, the ‘Blaugrana’ are undefeated in their last 23 La Liga games against cross-town rivals (W18, D5) and could make history if they avoid defeat here. Indeed, it would be the longest-ever unbeaten streak by any team in any type of derby in the competition’s history.