Espanyol vs Barcelona Prediction: Bet on a card-heavy match tonight on ITV4

Barcelona make the short trip to the RCDE Stadium on Thursday night, with their big Catalan derby against Espanyol live and free-to-air in the UK on ITV4 (kick-off 20:30)

Our La Liga Betting Expert is here with his Espanyol vs Barcelona Predictions as he gives us his in-depth preview on the match. What he likes is both teams to score and plenty of cards. He tells us why right here at Betfred Insights...

You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

The two clubs last met in this stadium almost exactly two years ago. Barça won that game 4-2 to clinch the 2022/23 title at the home of their local rivals. Their celebrations were swiftly cut short by a pitch invasion from numerous angry home supporters, forcing what was then Xavi's side to race for the tunnel. 

That situation could have easily turned quite nasty, and two years on, there are fears of a repeat on Thursday, as Barcelona again travel across the Catalan capital knowing that a victory will be enough to clinch the league title. That's assuming Real Madrid don't slip up at home to Mallorca on Wednesday night, a result that would also formally end the title race. 

Truth be told, Barça can already relax to some extent, having done the hard work by beating Los Blancos 4-3 in El Clásico at the weekend, a result which saw them go seven points clear at the top, with only three games to play. 

That game almost perfectly summed up their season. Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha all excelled as Hansi Flick's high-risk approach delivered spells of blistering attacking football that ripped their opponents to shreds in the first half, whilst also leaving them vulnerable on the break at times. 

Despite a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé, the Catalans were good value for their victory and they will be more than worthy winners of La Liga this season, having looked a class above the rest for most of the campaign. 

They'd love to seal it with another victory at Espanyol, as there is no shortage of animosity between these two clubs, despite the typically one-sided nature of this derby. Barça haven't lost to their neighbours since a 1-0 defeat in the Copa del Rey in January 2018, and even then they had the last laugh by winning the second leg 2-0, before going on to win the trophy. 

Espanyol have been relegated to the Segunda División twice since then. On both occasions, they've bounced straight back up, and they are desperate to avoid returning to the second tier in 2025. 

They looked as good as safe only a few weeks ago. Following the useful January additions of Roberto Fernández and Urko González de Zárate, they went on a fine run that saw them lose just twice in their first 14 league matches of the new calendar year. 

Manolo González led his side to a famous victory over Real Madrid, while they won three on the bounce in April. However, they head into this game following three straight defeats against Villarreal, Real Betis, and most damagingly fellow strugglers Leganés who beat them 3-2 on Sunday at Butarque. 

They've dropped to 16th as a result of victories for Girona and Sevilla on Tuesday night, and they may well need to pick up one more win to secure their top flight status, although much does depend on the results of the teams directly below them. 

A home game against Las Palmas on the final day does serve up a good opportunity to get that win, but their fan base would dearly love to get it here, and they can take a bit of belief from having scored twice in all of their last three home games against Barcelona. 

Team News: 

The Espanyol boss has a very clear idea of what his best starting lineup is, and he may be in a position to field that on Thursday night, given back-up defender Brian Oliván is expected to be their only injury absentee.  

Midfielder Pol Lozano has recovered from a knock and could return in midfield, while highly-rated Joan García, who has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs, could be in for a busy night in goal. 

As for Barcelona, they'll be forced into one change at the back from El Clásico, given Íñigo Martínez is suspended for this game. Ronald Araújo or Andreas Christensen should replace him. 

Alejandro Balde and Robert Lewandowski are both fit again following recent injuries, but both only made the bench against Real Madrid, and there's no guarantee that they'll start this game either. Jules Koundé has been ruled out once more, so Eric García is likely to continue at right-back. 

Espanyol vs Barcelona Odds

Barcelona travel to the RCDE Stadium as the clear favourites at 3/10 to win the derby and cap a fantastic season in style. Espanyol are priced at 8/1 to spoil their party with a rare victory in this fixture, while you can back the Draw at 9/2. 

If you're expecting the visitors to take care of business, you can get bigger returns by backing Barcelona and Over 2.5 goals at 7/10. You can also back the visitors to score over 2.5 goals in the game at 1/1, while Barça are priced at 13/8 to win both halves. 

Punters can also back Espanyol to win either half at 13/5. The hosts are priced at 11/4 to score over 1.5 goals in the game, while you can back Espanyol or Draw in the Double Chance market at 9/4. 

Roberto Fernández has been the home team's main goal threat in the second half of the season, and he's priced 12/5 to score anytime, while long-serving Javi Puado is available at 11/4 in the same market, in what may be his last Derbi Barceloní given his contract expires this summer. 

There's uncertainty as to whether it'll be Lewandowski or Ferran Torres up front for the visitors, but their two star wingers should both start. You can back Raphinha to score anytime at 13/10, while Lamine Yamal is on offer at 15/8 to bag a derby goal. 

Bet 1 - Over 52.5 Booking Points @ 11/10

There have been seven red cards and 36 yellows shown in the last six meetings between these clubs, and this is a fixture that does often boil over. 

There's a strong chance we'll see a repeat here, given what's at stake. Espanyol are fighting for their lives and will be desperate to deny their neighbours another title party in their own stadium, and the build-up to this game will be dominated by talk of what happened here two years ago. 

The least we can expect from the hosts will be a full-blooded display and I can see this being quite a tetchy derby again, so I'm backing Over 52.5 Booking Points at 11/10. 

Bet 2 - Both teams to score @ 4/6

Barcelona continue to play very attacking football that is full of risks. Flick persisted with that approach against Inter and Real Madrid, so there's absolutely no reason to expect anything different from him here, despite the absence of a couple of key defenders. 

While it's true that Espanyol don't exactly have a Kylian Mbappé in their ranks, they've scored in all of their home games against top-six opponents this season, and they are carrying enough of a threat to suggest they can pose a few problems on the break. 

Given that, I'm backing Both teams to score at 4/6, a winning bet in seven of the last eight Barça games.