Espanyol and Barcelona meet in the Catalan derby with both sides arriving in excellent form, which adds extra intrigue to a rivalry that has traditionally favoured the visitors.
Prediction: Both Teams to Score – Yes
This derby points toward goals at both ends. Espanyol’s current confidence and attacking rhythm, combined with Barcelona’s constant goal threat but occasional defensive lapses, make a mutual scoring scenario highly likely.
Espanyol Enjoying Their Best Season in Years
Espanyol close the year in fifth place, a position that clearly reflects the progress they have made this season. Their run of five consecutive La Liga victories underlines growing belief and stability, especially in attack. Although they have not beaten Barcelona in a league derby since 2009, the current context feels different. Espanyol are organised, confident, and far more competitive than in many previous seasons, which gives them genuine hope of troubling their city rivals.
Barcelona Relentless at the Top
Barcelona remain the benchmark in La Liga and continue to justify their place at the summit. They arrive on an eight-match winning streak in the championship and showed maturity in their last outing by ending Villarreal’s strong run with a 2-0 away victory. That match produced one of Barcelona’s rare clean sheets this season, but more often they rely on overwhelming opponents with attacking quality rather than defensive perfection. Their ability to score consistently keeps them in control even when they concede.
