Overview
Barcelona entered the Catalan derby after a 0-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Therefore, Hansi Flick's team will have to try very hard if they want to reach the semi-finals of this tournament.
Barcelona will certainly focus their attention on the second leg next week in Madrid, but their immediate goal is La Liga and a seventh consecutive victory, which will further consolidate their top position in the league table.
Currently, Barcelona is 6 points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, after Los Blancos won one point against Girona in an early match. Flick's team has won 25 out of 30 matches in the national championship this season, scoring 80 goals. And they are the brightest candidates to win the 29th championship.
Barcelona has won all 4 recent matches against Espanyol, including a 2-0 victory in the first leg at the beginning of the season. They are still unbeaten against the Catalan opponent since the Spanish King's Cup match in January 2018.
In fact, Espanyol has never defeated Barcelona in La Liga since February 2009, when they won 2-1 at Camp Nou. This shows the difficulty of the match for them.
It is undeniable that 2026 is a very disappointing year for the white and blue team, as they have not been able to win any match since the beginning of the year.
Manolo Gonzalez's team has shown the form of a potential candidate for the top 4 in the first half of the season. However, they have not won any match since the 2-1 away win against Athletic Bilbao on December 22.
Since then, Espanyol has played 13 matches in the top Spanish league, losing 8 and drawing 5. Declining form has caused them to drop to 10th place, 6 points behind sixth-placed Celta Vigo.
Gonzalez's team can draw positive points from the goalless draw with Real Betis in the previous match, and they will definitely have better fitness when entering this match.
Personnel situation
Barcelona is expected to be without Pedri in the Catalan derby, as the Spanish international said he suffered a hamstring injury in the match against Atletico Madrid in the middle of the week.
Therefore, Gavi can start for the first time since August, after he played the entire second half of the match against Atletico in the Champions League instead of Pedri.
Frenkie de Jong may return to the squad after a long absence, but Marc Bernal is still a big question mark due to an ankle injury, while Andreas Christensen and Raphinha are definitely absent due to injury.
It is expected that Flick will make adjustments compared to the Champions League match, with the possibility that Ronald Araujo, Alejandro Balde, Gavi, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres will be given the opportunity to start.
Pau Cubarsi is suspended in the second leg against Atletico, so this young center-back is likely to participate in the derby to maintain his fighting spirit.
On Espanyol's side, Pere Milla will return to the squad after his suspension expires. However, Javi Puado is still absent for a long time due to a knee injury, while Clemens Riedel was suspended after a yellow card in the previous match.
After a positive performance against Real Betis, Espanyol is unlikely to change too much of the squad, but Pere Milla is expected to return to midfield, and Fernando Calero may be given the opportunity to replace Riedel's position.
Expected lineup:
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, Araujo, Balde, E. Garcia, Gavi, Yamal, F. Lopez, OImo, F. Torres.
Dmitrovic, El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero, Ngonge, Gonzalez, Milla, Lozano, Dolan, Fernandez.
The match between Barcelona and Espanyol takes place at 11:30 PM on April 11 (Vietnam time).
