Barcelona vs Espanyol Prediction: Visitors’ won’t be thrashed by brilliant Barca

It wasn't a great week in Europe for Real Madrid but it was even worse for their La Liga rivals Barcelona, who lost 0-2 against Atletico after having been reduced to ten men early in the first half. It is back to La Liga action for them on Saturday evening with a 5:30PM (UK time) kick-off against Espanyol. La Liga TV will be showing the match live on TV.

As always, our Spanish football expert takes the helm as he previews the action and gives us his top two Barcelona vs Espanyol Predictions plus all the team news, predicted line-ups and stats...

Barcelona vs Espanyol Preview:

It's derby day in Barcelona this Saturday, with Espanyol making their first trip to Camp Nou since December 2022. 

They did lose this fixture 3-1 at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in 2024, and it is four straight victories for Barça overall in a derby that is historically one of Europe's most one-sided local rivalries. 

This Saturday's clash will present Hansi Flick with something of a dilemma in terms of his team selection. This clash does matter to Barcelona fans, with no love lost between the two sets of supporters, but the German will surely prioritise his team's upcoming Champions League quarter-final second leg against Atlético Madrid this coming Tuesday. 

The Catalan giants have some serious work to do in that tie after losing 2-0 at home to Diego Simeone's side on Wednesday night. The turning point in the game was Pau Cubarsí's 44th-minute red card for denying what was deemed a clear goalscoring opportunity. That blow was compounded by Julián Alvarez's sensational strike from the resulting free-kick, which set Atleti on their way to a potentially decisive victory. 

Barça had previously won every single home match since returning to Camp Nou in November. That run has helped extend their lead on Real Madrid at the top of La Liga, and they are now in a very strong position to go on and successfully defend their Spanish title. 

In an ideal world, Flick will be looking for his team to at least maintain their current advantage, which would take all the pressure off next month's Clásico. However, there is some margin for error now, and that suggests the 61-year-old will take this opportunity to rest key players ahead of the trip to the Estadio Metropolitano. 

That should be the recipe for a more interesting contest than this otherwise might have been. Espanyol have been in awful form since the turn of the year, with their last victory coming way back in December in Bilbao. 

A 13-game winless streak since then started with a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture against Barcelona. Manolo González's team actually performed really well in that game, creating a number of clear chances, but 86th and 90th-minute goals sealed yet another Blaugrana derby triumph. 

Their subsequent slump has seen Espanyol blow what was a really strong position at the midway point. Their European dreams have faded, with many of their early-season stars performing nowhere near as well in the second half of the campaign. 

The visitors did pick up a respectable 0-0 draw away to Real Betis last time out. They had just 30% of the ball in that game, and their possession share may drop even further on Saturday. 

Manolo will be looking for his team to hold firm at the back and strike on the break. There is pace in this Espanyol side, particularly out wide with Tyrhys Dolan. The Englishman has made a largely positive impact in his debut season in Spain since leaving Blackburn on a free transfer last summer. 

Team News: 

Despite the significance of the derby, this is likely to be the weakest starting lineup that Barcelona have fielded all season in La Liga. Raphinha, Andreas Christensen and Marc Bernal are definite absentees due to injuries, while Frenkie de Jong is unlikely to be ready to start having been sidelined for more than a month. 

Pedri was also surprisingly replaced early on against Atleti in midweek, with the key midfielder dealing with a minor hamstring issue. He is available for this match, but may not be risked from the start, with Flick also expected to rotate in a number of other positions. That should mean opportunities for the likes of Ferran Torres, Gavi, Alejandro Balde and Ronald Araújo. 

As for Espanyol, they'll clearly be going as strong as possible as they target a first league win in the Derbi Barceloní since a 2-1 triumph at Camp Nou in the 2008/09 season, which was Pep Guardiola's first in charge of Barça. 

There are only two absentees for the visitors. Centre-back Clemens Riedel is suspended, while forward Javi Puado is out long-term with a torn ACL. 

Match Odds: 

Barcelona are the 1/4 favourites to secure another three points in La Liga. You can back the Draw at 5/1, while Espanyol are priced at 17/2 to end a 17-year wait for a victory at Camp Nou. 

If you're expecting the hosts to get by just fine without some of their regulars, you can back Barça to win and Over 3.5 goals at 21/20. They are given a 7/5 chance of winning the game to nil, while you can back Flick's side with a -2.00 Handicap at 6/4. 

Alternatively, Draw or Espanyol is on offer at 5/2 in the Double Chance market. The visitors are available at 11/4 to score over 1.5 goals, while they're also given an 11/4 chance of winning either half. 

The expectation is that Flick will take the opportunity to rest Robert Lewandowski, with Ferran likely to take his place up top. The Spain international is in poor form, but available at 10/3 to score first, and 4/5 to score anytime. 

Lamine Yamal is rarely rested, and could still have a big role to play in this match. He's priced at 5/6 to score anytime, while you can back Fermín López to get on the scoresheet at 6/4. 

From a visiting perspective, Roberto Fernández got the nod up front against Betis last time out, and he's on offer at 3/1 to score at some stage. 

*You can place a bet on this match and check out all of our Barcelona vs Espanyol Odds over on betfred.com

Bet 1 - Espanyol +2.00 Handicap @ 21/20 

If Barcelona are going to progress from their Champions League tie, there's a good chance they'll need to play for 120 minutes in Madrid on Tuesday night. It's therefore very hard to see any of Flick's outfield regulars playing the full game on Saturday, with the exception of Cubarsí, who is suspended for the second leg against Atleti. 

That gives Espanyol their best opportunity in years to be competitive in an away derby. While their form has been really poor, they've not lost any of their last five matches by more than one clear goal. Manolo's side have only failed to score twice since an unfortunate defeat in the reverse clash with Barça in the first week of January. 

Given that, I'm expecting this to be a relatively tricky afternoon for the hosts, and I'm backing Espanyol +2.00 Handicap at 21/20. 

Bet 2 - Under 4.5 goals & Tyrhys Dolan 1+ shots @ 5/6 

In the event that Barcelona's quality still proves too much and they work up a clear advantage, there's little reason for them to chase a big win. The home team will likely look to keep the ball and conserve energy in that scenario, so it's hard to see this match developing into a very high-scoring affair. 

Espanyol had plenty of joy against Barcelona's high line the last time the clubs met, with Roberto missing several opportunities. They may sit even deeper in this game, with Dolan potentially the main outlet on the counterattack. He was one of the standout players for Los Periquitos at Betis last time out, and despite a disappointing goal return, he is averaging exactly one shot per game in La Liga. 

The Englishman should get space to run into, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Under 4.5 goals and Tyrhys Dolan to have one or more shots at 5/6. 

You can check out Mark's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page...