Espanyol have been the surprise package this season, as they are massively exceeding expectations. However, extending that streak is set to be a real challenge this weekend, as they face league leaders Barcelona. The Catalans have won 15 of their 18 league matches this season, including each of the last eight in a row.

Hansi Flick’s men will be confident of keeping that run going, given how they completed the league double over Espanyol last season - they won 3-1 on home turf, and 2-0 in the reverse fixture at the RCDE Stadium. In fact, Barcelona have dominated this local rivalry over the years - the last time they lost to Espanyol was all the way back in 2018, in a Copa del Rey fixture. Barcelona sit four points clear at the top of the league, and are well on track to defend their title.

With a total of 51 goals scored, the Catalans have been clinical in the final third, and they are La Liga’s top scorers. For context on just how impressive that tally is, Real Madrid have scored 36 goals, ranking second for total goals this season. However, Hansi Flick’s open and expansive tactics have sometimes left his side vulnerable on the break, and Barcelona haven’t been particularly watertight defensively.

In fact, with 20 goals conceded after 18 league matches, Barcelona have shipped the most goals out of the current top seven sides in the La Liga standings. While they were able to keep a clean sheet against Villarreal just before the break, the Yellow Submarine had plenty of quality chances. They racked up 14 shots and three big chances worth 1.66 xG despite having a man sent off after just 39 minutes. Barcelona were fortunate not to concede.

Based on that, Espanyol will fancy their chances of at least getting on the scoresheet, but their main challenge here will be keeping this Barcelona attacking unit at bay. Lamine Yamal in particular is a player who has been in scintillating form this season, with nine goals and ten assists to his name after just 20 appearances across all competitions. The 18-year-old has landed this selection in nine of his last 12 matches, including five of his last six on the road.

Espanyol struggled to contain the youngster last season, as he contributed a goal and assist in this fixture at the RCDE Stadium. Even in the reverse fixture, he provided an assist for Dani Olmo after just 12 minutes, while also racking up a total of four shots with two on target. Whether it’s going down the line to cross, or cutting in to shoot, Yamal is such a difficult player to contain, and he is one to watch this weekend.

It was one-way traffic when these sides last met, as Barcelona accrued 75% possession. Despite their dominance, Barcelona still committed a total of ten fouls, of which Eric Garcia was responsible for one. The Spaniard has been used by Hansi Flick to fill in the gaps this season, owing to his impressive versatility. Garcia has featured at centre back, right back and also in midfield at times.

While Pedri recovers from a hamstring injury, Garcia could feature alongside Frenkie de Jong in midfield, just as he did against Villarreal just before the break. The 24-year-old committed two fouls in that game and was booked before being replaced by Marc Bernal after 66 minutes. Garcia is averaging 1.35 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season, landing this bet in ten of his last eleven starts, including the last six straight.