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Barcelona will welcome local rivals Espanyol to Camp Nou in yet another edition of El Derbi Barceloni in La Liga on Saturday, 31 December.
The hosts are at the top of the league table and will look to finish as the league leaders at the end of the year. They have a narrow two-point lead over reigning champions Real Madrid and will need to avoid defeat if they are to retain pole position in the league table.
Barcelona have won their last five league games and in their previous outing, second-half goals from Pedri and Raphinha helped them to a 2-1 away win over Osasuna.
Espanyol have struggled in their league campaign thus far and are winless in their last five league games. They fell to a 1-0 away defeat against Villarreal last time around.
Barcelona vs Espanyol Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two Barcelona-based rivals will be meeting for the 215th time in competitive games. As expected, the hosts have been the better team in these games with 125 wins to their name. The visitors have been able to get the better of the Catalans 45 times and 44 games have ended in draws.
- Barcelona are unbeaten in their last eight meetings against Espanyol, recording five wins in that period.
- In La Liga, the hosts are on a 24-game unbeaten run against the visitors, last suffering a defeat in 2009 at the Camp Nou.
- Barcelona have kept a clean sheet in their last six out of seven home matches against Espanyol in all competitions.
- Espanyol have failed to win 19 of their last 21 matches in La Liga.
- No team have won more games (12) than the hosts this season in La Liga while Espanyol have the fewest wins (2) of any team apart from last-placed Elche, who are winless in 14 league games thus far.
- Barcelona have the joint-best attacking record and best defensive record in La Liga this term, scoring 33 goals and conceding five in 14 games.
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Barcelona vs Espanyol Prediction
Blaugrana have won six of their seven home games in La Liga this term while keeping clean sheets in all of those games. They have scored at least two goals in five of their seven home games and are likely to produce a solid performance.
Blanquiazules are winless in league games against Barcelona since 2009 and are expected to struggle in this match. They have failed to score in their last six out of seven trips to Camp Nou.
With that in mind, we back the hosts to secure a comfortable win and the odds of a clean sheet also look good.
Prediction: Barcelona 3-0 Espanyol.
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Barcelona vs Espanyol Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Barcelona
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5
Tip 3: Barcelona to score in the first half - Yes
Tip 4: Robert Lewandowski to score anytime - Yes
Tip 5: Barcelona to keep a clean sheet - Yes
