Barcelona Form
The club are edging ever closer to the league title. Last weekend, the Catalans earned a crucial victory by beating Atletico away from home (2:1). Barcelona snatched all three points thanks to an 87th-minute goal, as the team have now won six straight matches in La Liga. The gap to their closest challenger now stands at seven points. Barcelona remain La Liga’s highest-scoring side, with 80 goals scored since the start of the current season. In terms of total goals conceded (29), only Real Madrid have a better record (28).
- The team have scored in 50 consecutive La Liga matches.
- The Catalans’ no-draw run in the Spanish league has lasted 27 games (23 wins, 4 defeats).
- Nine of Barcelona’s last 11 matches in this competition have gone over the total.
Potential Barcelona Lineup (4-2-3-1)*
Joan Garcia – Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Martin – Pedri, Eric Garcia – Lamine Yamal, Marcus Rashford, Fermin Lopez – Dani Olmo.
Defender Andreas Christensen, midfielders Marc Bernal and Frenkie de Jong, as well as forward Raphinha, will not feature due to injuries.
Espanyol Form
In the latest round, the club held on for a goalless draw away at Real Betis. As a result, Espanyol avoided a third straight defeat in La Liga, but their winless run has now stretched to 13 matches (5 draws, 8 defeats). They have still not recorded a victory in this competition since 2025. With those results, the Catalans sit 10th in the table, yet they are only three points off seventh place. It is worth noting that the team kept a clean sheet the other day for the first time in 14 league rounds. At the same time, Espanyol saw an end to a scoring run that had lasted nine matches.
- At least two goals have been scored in 13 of the Catalans’ previous 14 La Liga matches.
- Both teams have scored in 7 of Espanyol’s last 8 away matches in this competition.
- The club have won with a (+1.5) handicap in 11 of their previous 13 away games in La Liga.
Potential Espanyol Lineup (4-4-1-1)*
Marko Dmitrovic – Carlos Romero, Leandro Cabrera, Clemens Riedel, Omar El-Hilali – Pol Lozano, Cyril Ngonge, Urko Gonzalez, Tairys Dolan – Edu Exposito – Roberto Fernandez.
Defender Clemens Riedel is suspended.
* For each team, the starting XI from their previous match in this competition is listed.
