Espanyol vs Barcelona Prediction and Analysis: Defeating their neighbors
The match between Espanyol and Barcelona in La Liga will take place at 2:30 AM on May 16th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
Latest team news for Espanyol vs Barcelona
Espanyol will continue to be without defender Brian Olivan due to a calf injury he has been suffering from since the end of March.
Midfielder Pol Lozano missed the defeat to Leganes due to a hamstring injury but has now returned to training and could start against Barcelona.
Right-back Omar El Hilali is ready to return after serving a one-match suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards.
Javi Puado remains Espanyol's biggest hope in attack, with 11 goals and 3 assists in 32 La Liga matches this season.
On Barcelona's side, Marc Bernal is still recovering from a long-term knee injury.
Jules Kounde and Pablo Torre are likely to remain absent due to ongoing hamstring and knee injuries.
Inigo Martinez is suspended due to accumulating too many yellow cards, creating an opportunity for Ronald Araujo or Andreas Christensen to start, with Christensen likely to be chosen after his impressive substitute performance in El Clasico.
Alejandro Balde is working hard to earn a starting spot after playing over 30 minutes against Real Madrid. However, Barcelona may not risk starting Robert Lewandowski as he is still not fully recovered from his hamstring injury.
Latest predicted lineups for Espanyol vs Barcelona
Espanyol:
Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Romero; Exposito, Gonzalez, Lozano; Jofre, Puado, Roberto
barbecue:
Szczesny; Garcia, Christensen, Cubarsi, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Torres
Latest football match prediction: Espanyol vs Barcelona
Espanyol currently sit 14th in the league table with 10 wins, 9 draws, and 16 losses after 35 rounds in La Liga this season.
Los Periquitos enter Thursday's derby in poor form, having only earned one point in their last four matches since their 1-0 victory over Getafe on April 18th.
They drew 1-1 with Valencia before losing three consecutive matches against Villarreal, Real Betis, and Leganes.
In Saturday's match against Leganes, coach Manolo Gonzalez's team tried to fight back after falling behind by three goals. Although Leandro Cabrera and Pere Milla narrowed the gap, they still had to accept a 2-3 defeat due to insufficient time to turn the situation around.
Despite recent disappointing results, Espanyol still have an advantage in the relegation battle, being 5 points ahead of the relegation zone with three matches remaining against Barcelona, Osasuna, and Las Palmas.
Following their defeat at Butarque, Los Periquitos are eager to return to the RCDE Stadium, where they have lost only 1 of their last 11 home games in La Liga (4 wins, 6 draws). However, that single defeat was their most recent match against Betis.
Espanyol hopes that home advantage will help them secure their first victory against Barcelona in La Liga since their 2-1 away win in February 2009.
Barcelona are closing in on the La Liga title after an emotional 4-3 victory over Real Madrid, just days after their Champions League semi-final defeat to Inter Milan.
Despite being two goals down after Kylian Mbappe's early brace, Barcelona staged a spectacular comeback thanks to goals from Eric Garcia and Lamine Yamal, with Raphinha scoring a brace to give the home side a 4-2 lead in the first half.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick in the second half to reduce the deficit, and then Fermin Lopez's goal was disallowed by VAR, leaving the final score at 4-3. With this result, Barcelona are just one step away from their 28th La Liga title, having already won the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup in Hansi Flick's first season.
With a seven-point lead over Real Madrid, Barca could win the title as early as Wednesday if Real slip up against Mallorca. If Real win, Blaugrana will need to beat Espanyol to officially clinch the title in round 36.
Besides winning the cup, Barcelona also aims to reach the milestone of 100 goals in La Liga, having already scored 95 goals after 35 rounds.
The Catalan team is very confident they can secure all three points, having won 14 of their last 15 La Liga matches and winning all five of their consecutive away games.
Barca are also unbeaten in their last 27 La Liga derbies against Espanyol (20 wins, 7 draws), including the first leg in November which they won 3-1 – Dani Olmo scored a brace and Raphinha scored within the first 31 minutes of the match.
Latest Espanyol vs Barcelona score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.Espanyol vs Barcelonaas follows:
- Sportsmole:Espanyol 1-3 Barcelona
- WhoScore:Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona
- Our newspaper predicts:Espanyol 1-3 Barcelona
When and where can I watch Espanyol vs Barcelona live?
To watch the Espanyol vs Barcelona match live in La Liga, taking place at 2:30 AM on May 16th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.
