Overview
Espanyol is experiencing an impressive 2025-2026 season to date. Coach Manolo Gonzalez's team has won 10, drawn 3 and lost only 4 after 17 rounds. They are ranked 5th in the La Liga standings and create a 5-point gap compared to 6th-placed Real Betis.
Last season, "White and Blues" only finished in 14th place in the highest league in Spain. Therefore, the pressure to improve is understandable, and at this point, they are responding with a commendable campaign.
Espanyol has never finished a La Liga season higher than 7th place since finishing 5th in the 2004-2005 season. Therefore, this season may open up a special opportunity for the Catalan team. They enter the next match with very high form when winning all 5 rounds recently, respectively against Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Athletic Bilbao.
Notably, Periquitos has been unable to defeat Barcelona at home in La Liga since January 2007. Their last victory against Barca in the tournament was also a long time ago, when they won 2-1 right at Camp Nou in February 2009.
At home this season, Espanyol showed a positive face with 6 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats after 9 matches in La Liga.
Meanwhile, Barcelona is in strong form with a 7-game winning streak in all competitions, including the 2-0 victory over Villarreal in their last appearance of 2025.
In La Liga alone, Hansi Flick's team has won 8 consecutive matches, owning 46 points after 18 rounds to dominate the top spot, 4 points ahead of Real Madrid, in the context that Los Blancos are showing signs of losing momentum at the end of the year.
Blaugrana is currently the best attack in the league with 51 goals. However, conceding 20 goals - the most in the top 7 - is clearly a detail that Hansi Flick must consider when entering the key stage of the season.
Barcelona will aim for their fourth consecutive victory against Espanyol, even though they drew with their Catalan counterpart at RCDE in February 2022.
After this match, Barcelona will switch to the Spanish Super Cup. The Catalan representative is preparing to go to Saudi Arabia to meet Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals, before being able to face Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the final.
Personnel situation
Espanyol will continue to be without Roman Terrats due to a muscle injury, while Charles Pickel is on duty with the Congo national team in the African Cup.
Javi Puado may reappear after a long period of being sidelined due to a knee injury. However, the Spanish player is likely only considered as a backup option.
Regarding the starting lineup, Espanyol is predicted not to have much fluctuation in this match. Roberto Fernandez continues to take on the role of central midfielder, and the 4-3-3 system is likely to witness Pere Milla and Tyrhys Dolan guarding both wings.
In the opposite direction, Barcelona welcomed positive news when Ronald Araujo returned to the first team after a period of absence to prioritize mental health issues.
However, Hansi Flick certainly does not have Andreas Christensen and Gavi due to knee injuries. Dani Olmo (shoulder injury) and Pedri (muscle injury) still leave open the possibility of participation, but both have the opportunity to return to the registered list.
If Pedri is confirmed to be eligible to start, Eric Garcia may be brought in to play center-back. Meanwhile, Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are likely to form a support trio behind Ferran Torres.
Expected lineup:
Dmitrovic, El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero, Gonzalez, Edu, Lozano, Dolan, Fernandez, Milla.
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Balde, Pedri, De Jong, Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha, F. Torres.
The match between Espanyol and Barcelona takes place at 3:00 AM on January 4th (Vietnam time).
