Preview: Espanyol vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

The latest instalment of the Catalan derby will take place at RCDE Stadium on Saturday evening, with Espanyol welcoming Barcelona in Spain's top flight.

Barcelona are top of the La Liga table, four points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, while Espanyol are fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.

Match preview

Espanyol have enjoyed an excellent 2025-26 campaign to date, with Manolo Gonzalez's side boasting a record of 10 wins, three draws and four defeats from their 17 matches to sit fifth in the La Liga table, five points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis.

The White and Blues finished 14th in Spain's top flight last season, so there was clear room for improvement this term, and it has been an impressive campaign to date.

Espanyol have not finished higher than seventh in La Liga since claiming fifth in 2004-05, so there is plenty on the line this term, and the Catalan outfit will enter this match in strong form, having been victorious in each of their last five league games against Sevilla, Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, Getafe and Athletic Bilbao.

Periquitos have incredibly not managed to beat Barcelona at home in La Liga since January 2007, while their last league success was a 2-1 win at Camp Nou in February 2009.

Espanyol have been largely impressive at home this season, boasting a record of six wins, one draw and two defeats from their nine league games in front of their own supporters.

Barcelona, meanwhile, have won each of their last seven matches in all competitions, including a 2-0 success over Villarreal in their final match of 2025.

The Catalan outfit have triumphed in their last eight league games, with a total of 46 points from 18 matches leaving them top of the table, four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, with Los Blancos having a wobble towards the end of the year.

Barcelona have comfortably the best attacking record in La Liga this season, scoring 51 times, but they have conceded 20, which is the most in the top seven, and that will be concerning for head coach Hansi Flick at this stage of the season.

Blaugrana are looking to record a fourth straight win over Espanyol, but they did drop two points against their Catalan rivals at RCDE Stadium in February 2022.

Barcelona's attention will switch to the Spanish Super Cup after this match, preparing to head to Saudi Arabia to tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the tournament, ahead of a potential final against either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid.

Espanyol La Liga form:

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Espanyol form (all competitions):

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Espanyol will once again be without the services of Roman Terrats due to a muscular injury, while Charles Pickel is with the DR Congo squad at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Javi Puado could return from a lengthy absence caused by a knee injury, but the Spaniard will not be considered for a start due to the amount of time that he has spent out of action, with his last appearance coming on October 5.

There are not expected to be any surprises in the Espanyol XI on Saturday, with Roberto Fernandez again set to operate through the middle, while a 4-3-3 formation should include Pere Milla and Tyrhys Dolan in the wide areas.

As for Barcelona, Ronald Araujo is back with the first-team squad after taking a period of absence to prioritise his mental health.

Andreas Christensen (knee) and Gavi (knee) are both definitely out, but Dani Olmo (shoulder) and Pedri (muscle) could potentially return to the squad.

Should Pedri be declared fit to start, Eric Garcia may drop into the middle of the defence, with Fermin Lopez, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha then featuring as the attacking three behind Ferran Torres, who has scored 11 times in La Liga this season.

Espanyol possible starting lineup:

Dmitrovic; El Hilali, Calero, Cabrera, Romero; Gonzalez, Edu, Lozano; Dolan, Fernandez, Milla

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; F Torres

We say: Espanyol 1-2 Barcelona

It would not be a surprise to see the points shared on Saturday, while a long-awaited win for Espanyol cannot be ruled out due to their impressive form. However, we are expecting Barcelona to navigate their way to a hugely important three points this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.