Barcelona could advance nine things under LA Liga leadership this weekend if they beat RCD Espanyol at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Sunday. Hansi Flick’s side destroyed Real Madrid in El Clásico last weekend to earn six points and victory over Manolo González’s men, who are 17th in the standings, could stretch that with Los Blancos out of action this weekend due to the sudden escape in Valencia. .
Barça are chasing their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions before this one and the opportunity is greater as Real Madrid are no longer in motion to reduce that supremacy. The Blaugrana beat Carlo Ancelotti’s team 4-0 and Robert Lewandowski scored twice just days after crushing Bayern Munich 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League.
Imagine that Barça is undefeated in its last 26 meetings with Espanyol with 102 wins in 176 games in Los Angeles. La Liga and the 27-time champions of Spain are big favorites. The visitors will be encouraged that two of their top three fixtures will be completed as draws, but overall the head-to-head report strongly favors the home team for this one.
Espanyol fell to Sevilla in Los Angeles. La Liga finished last week, but they beat San Tirso in the Copa del Rey in midweek to regain some confidence. Gonzalez’s side have a big challenge here, but a meeting with Valencia ahead of November’s international should raise the prospect of trouble with Girona as their first challengers in the game.
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- Future: Sunday, November 3 | Date: 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time
- Location: Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium – Barcelona, Spain
- Guard: ESPN Sports | Flow: Fubo (struggles to separate)
- Odd: Barça -1000; Giveaway +1000; Spanish +2000
story so far
Barça has won 10 in its 11 games in Los Angeles. League so far with 37 goals scored and will imagine against Espanyol, Estrella Roja and Real Sociedad before the November internationals. Lewandowski’s superior mode continues with a speed of 17 goals. Raphinha has 10 goals and nine assists with Lamine Yamal contributing six more goals and seven assists. Espanyol has promoted L. a. again. League until the last day of the playoffs and has 10 editions of 11 games that place them in 17th place in the standings. González’s men have won three and lost seven with only one draw and their 19 goals conceded in the third worst defensive record in the Spanish top flight.
Staff information
Barça: Ferran Torres, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo are off the pace. Eric García is very indecisive. Flick should be able to repeat his real style, but Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo might just be getting started. The pair could simply replace Marc Casado and Fermín López, so Gavi could continue his slow comeback from the bench. The prolific trio Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha will continue to dominate the attack.
Barça XI conceivable: Grief; Koundé, Cubarsi, I Martínez, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
Spanish: Alejo Véliz is in a rivalry close to a treble during the week and could play games at the pace of Javi Puado. Pol Lozano is expected to miss even if José Gragera is due to return after his absence. Fernando Calero and Edu Expósito are left out, but Alex Kral, Joan García and Álvaro Tejero should soon be reincorporated into a midweek rotation.
Possible Espanyol XI: Garcia; El Hilali, Kumbulla, Cabrera, Olivan; Tejero, Kral, Gragera, Carreras; Wow, Véliz.
Prediction
This must be a mere plethora for Barca, as Espanyol are unlikely to put up any real resistance given how notable Flick’s men were in the past. As the percentages recommend, even a draw could be notable for the guests, so a profit margin of two goals is expected for the Blaugrana. Choose: Barça 3, Espanyol 1.
