Barcelona vs Espanyol: Preview, Free tip & Statistics

19.11.2021 07:00

Saturday's round of Spain's top football competition closed the evening with a derby between irreconcilable rivals, namely Barcelona, who will host Espanyol in the Barcelona Derby. 

Background information, news and team form

Club legend Xavi is finally returning to Barcelona after protracted negotiations. Xavi spent the last 4 years of his playing career in sunny Qatar, where he managed to score 21 goals in 82 games. For the last 2 years, Xavi has dedicated himself to coaching duties at his former club where he finished his playing career - Al Sadd. During his two and a half years on the Al Sadd coaching bench, Xavi made 97 starts and managed to win 7 trophies with the club.Xavi comes to Barcelona at a time when the club is going through a generational change and moreover, the club is short of money. Xavi will thus have to rely mainly on the offspring of the once-famous La Masia, which he says he would like to return to its former glory. According to leaked information, Xavi has already started to transform the training methods and tighten the rules in place, where players must be at the training ground two hours early, and whoever is even a minute late pays a fine that doubles over time. In addition, the players have started to eat together and Xavi has a better overview of their diet, from which he has cut out some unhealthy foods. Xavi has already started to solve the problem of frequent injuries that Barcelona's squad of the last season has constantly felt and the club's main club doctor Juanjo Bratu has been dismissed and Carles Nogueira should return in his place. In addition, Barcelona may have lost their new cannon baller, Sergio Aguero, for good this month, who was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia during the last league match, making his continuation in professional football very uncertain. Espanyol has failed to beat Barcelona for 22 matches in a row, which is Espanyol's worst streak against this opponent, but this year it is not the Barcelona that has dominated Spanish and European football for the last few decades, and so it is the perfect opportunity to break this streak in Espanyol's favour. The only problem remains Espanyol's away games. Espanyol has not won a single LaLiga match on foreign pitches this season and, moreover, they have not won at Camp Nou since February 2009. 

 

 

Betdoin's view of the match 

Barcelona enters this match as the odds-on favourite at 1.38. A draw is available at bookmakers at odds of 5.15, and if you want to bet on Espanyol to win, that is available at odds of 8.50. The goal line for this match is listed at over 2,75. Any bets are very tricky for this match as Barcelona will be starting a new era with a new coach, who also professes a quite different style from the previous coach Koeman. Our clever Betdoin algorithm has rated the best bet for this match as the over corners.

 

 

Absentees and estimated line-ups 

Barcelona will still be missing Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Martin Braithwaite and Sergio Aguero. Espanyol will still be missing Keidi Bare and Oscar Gila, but otherwise, Espanyol shouldn't be missing anyone.

Barcelona - estimated line-up:

Ter Stegen - Roberto, Araujo, Garcia, Alba - Gavi, Busquets, Frankie De Jong - Depay, Luuk De Jong, Coutinho

Espanyol - estiamted line-up:

Lopez - Vidal, Gomez, Cabrera, Pedrosa - Morlanes, Darder - Melamed, Melendo, Embarba - De Tomas

 

Free tip for Barcelona vs Espanyol - Over 9,5 corners (2,00)

 

Frequently asked questions about the match Barcelona vs Espanyol:

Where to watch Barcelona vs Espanyol live on TV?  The match is live onStarTimes App, Startimes Sports Premium, SuperSport Laliga ROA, SuperSport MaXimo 2, DStv Now.

What players to watch during the match? Depay, Frankie De Jong, De Tomaas, Alba.

Who is the favourite for the match? According to the bookmakers, the favourite is Barcelona (1.38).

How did the last match between the two teams end? Barcelona 1-0, 8/7/2020. 

What time does the game start? Opening kick-off at 21:00. 

What stadium will the game be played in? Camp Nou (Barcelona)

Where can I find the game at Betdoin? Full statistics can be found here.