Espanyol VS Barcelona Match Prediction

Espanyol have an awful record against Barcelona.  In 34 matches, they have just two wins and eight draws to Barca's 24 wins.  Here's a look at the last five times they've met:

Dec 18, 2016: Barca 4-1 Espanyol
May 8, 2016: Barca 5-0 Espanyol
Jan 13, 2016: Espanyol 0-2 Barca (Copa del Rey)
Jan 6, 2016: Barca 4-1 Espanyol (Copa del Rey)
Jan 2, 2016: Espanyol 0-0 Barca

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Espanyol vs Barcelona Prediction

Espanyol have perhaps the best team they've had in some time, but it won't be enough to stop this reinvigorated Barcelona side's charge.

Correct Score Prediction: Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona

Espanyol vs Barcelona Betting Tips and Odds

Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:

Espanyol are at 14/1 to win, a draw is at 13/2, and a Barcelona win is at 2/11.

Espanyol's double chance odds are at 4/1 should they win or draw.

Both teams to score is set at 1/1 for yes and ¾ for no.

A 1-0 win for Espanyol at full time could bring you remarkable 65/1 odds.

Reason: The bookmakers are heavily in Barca's favor due to their head to head record against their rivals.  They are also much higher in the table and have bounced back impressively in the last couple of matches.

Team News

Quique Sanchez Flores will be without center back Oscar Duarte, right winger Hernan Perez, attacking midfielder Salva Sevilla, and striker Alvaro Vasquez due to injuries.

Key Man

Espanyol have some very good attacking threats to turn to, and the main one of those is striker Gerard Moreno.  The 25 year old Spanish-born man has 12 goals to his name, and has been quit the opponent to stop when paired with winger Pablo Piatti.  Moreno is a former Villarreal man, and they will likely be wishing they had him back after the season that he has had.  Espanyol won't have much of the ball, so when they do have it they will need Moreno to make very good use of it.

Team Form

Espanyol has one draw, two losses, and two wins in their last five matches.  They lost 2-0 away to Athletic Bilbao before winning 1-0 over Espanyol (at home) and Leganes (away).  They lost 0-1 at home to Atletico Madrid before drawing 1-1 away to lowly Sporting Gijon on Tuesday.

Expected Line-up: 4-4-2

Team News

Luis Enrique will be without right back Aleix Vidal, center back Jeremy Mathieu, and center midfielder Rafinha due to injuries.

Key Man

Lionel Messi will be cherishing another derby knowing that he has helped bring his side back into title contention.  Messi scored twice against Real Madrid, including a very late winner, and he then followed it up with yet another brace on Wednesday against Osasuna.  The Argentine now has an incredible 33 goals (and 11 assists) in 30 matches this season in the league.  Anyone that can score more than a goal per match is simply an extraterrestrial.  You can't like Espanyol's chances at stopping him here, either.

Team Form

Barcelona have three wins, a draw, and a loss in their last five matches in all competitions.  A 3-0 loss away to Juventus saw them basically eliminated from the Champions League after the first leg.  They then won 3-2 at home to Real Sociedad before drawing 0-0 at home with Juve to see them officially eliminated.  They then won 2-3 away to Real Madrid to open the title race again before thumping Osasuna 7-1 on Wednesday.

Expected Line-up: 4-3-3

Barcelona\'s season has come been a bit of a roller coaster. They were seemingly down and out, and they would have been had they lost at Real Madrid, but they came roaring back with victory at the Bernabeu and then followed it up with a seven goal display. That will, rightfully, concern rivals Espanyol as they come into this match on Saturday. Espanyol have the unique opportunity to sink their rivals in a big way. It\'s going to be very hard for them to do so, but this is one of the better Espanyol sides in recent memory. So you have to believe if they are going to stop Barcelona, this is the team that needs to do it.

Barcelona have scored as many goals away from home as Espanyol have scoring all season long so far. That number is at 45, and it shows just why Barcelona is so difficult to beat- even when they aren\'t the home side.