La Liga preview and odds: Espanyol vs Barcelona

Published on: 01/01/2016

La Liga preview and odds: Espanyol vs Barcelona

January 02, 2016 15:00am - Power8 Estadi Cornellà-El Prat

La Liga

All-conquering Barcelona will kick off the New Year on Saturday with a trip across town to face local rivals Espanyol at Estadi Cornellà-El Prat in La Liga.

Espanyol due a home derby a win

Espanyol fans may have forgotten what it feels like to beat their local rivals on home soil in the league. They last beat Barcelona at home way back in 2007 when they were still playing at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys.

They come into this game on the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Sevilla but will be buoyed by the fact that they have not been beaten at home in their last four games, having won twice and drawn twice.

Barca begin year on top

Barcelona ended 2015 at the top of La Liga, level on points with Atletico Madrid but with a game in hand and a superior head-to-head record. A win on Saturday would keep the pressure on their rivals from the capital who play later the same weekend.

Following a five-trophy haul in 2015, the Catalan club have once again set the standard across world football and boss Luis Enrique wants to push his team even further this year. They come into this game on the back of a 4-0 win at home to Real Betis. Luis Suarez bagged another brace in that game and now tops the Barca scoring charts with a tally of 15.

Team news

Espanyol pair Victor Sanchez and Jose Canas were both injured in the match against Sevilla and will miss out.

Meanwhile, Barca now have Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal available following the expiration of their transfer ban.

Recent form (League)

Espanyol: LWLDL

Barcelona: WDDWW

Betting odds and tips

Despite their long haul trip to secure the World club Championship before Christmas, Barcelona showed no signs of fatigue last time out against Real Betis.

There is little value to be gained from backing the away side to win outright, but you can back Barcelona/Barcelona Half time/Full time at 8/13 with Ladbrokes.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 01/01/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (01/01/2016 14:03:49) but are subject to change.