Barcelona to wrap up La Liga title with victory over Espanyol
RCD Espanyol vs Barcelona - 14/05/2023
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Cross-city rivals Espanyol and Barcelona will lock horns at RCDE Stadium on Sunday evening as both sides go in search of points for different reasons.
A win for Barca this weekend would see them clinch the La Liga table, with second-placed Atletico Madrid trailing Xavi’s side by 13 points with five games remaining.
At the opposite end of the table, Espanyol find themselves second from bottom and three points from safety, meaning Luis Garcia’s men are running out of time to save their season.
In fairness, it is easy to understand why Espanyol are in relegation troubles, as they have managed to win just seven of their 33 league games this term.
When the Parakeets enjoyed a run of three defeats in 13 La Liga outings between October and February, they looked destined to steer clear of the drop zone.
Since then, however, Espanyol have managed to pick up a solitary victory in 10 matches, suffering eight losses in the process.
Having thrown away a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2 to Sevilla last time out, Espanyol’s morale will be low as they prepare to host their arch-rivals.
By contrast, Barcelona will be buzzing knowing that a victory over Espanyol will see them secure their first La Liga title since 2018-19.
In truth, Xavi’s side all but wrapped up the title a long time ago, having won 26 of their 33 games this season, conceding a measly 11 goals in the process.
Barca head into Sunday’s clash on the back of two successive victories, with a 4-0 thrashing of Real Betis preceding a 1-0 win over Osasuna.
Although Barcelona have struggled for consistency on the road of late – recording two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five away league game – Xavi’s men will be confident of triumphing on Sunday.
Head-to-head: Espanyol have failed to beat Barcelona in La Liga since 2009, while Barca have racked up 18 defeats in that time.
Given that five of the last eight league meetings have produced under 2.5 goals, we are likely to see a low-scoring encounter this time around.
Team news: Espanyol look set to be without Jose Gragera this weekend as the Spain U21 midfielder continues to recover from injury.
Barcelona, on the other hand, will be without Sergi Robert due to a hamstring injury, while Angel Alarcon is also a doubt for Sunday’s clash.
Despite the best efforts of Espanyol, Barcelona are expected to claim the Derbi Barceloni bragging rights while securing the La Liga title this weekend.
Forebet predicts that Barcelona will notch a narrow victory over Espanyol, while the visitors also look set to keep a clean sheet.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
Es1
141868
2
0 - 1
1.97
18°
1.70
4.33
4.00
1.70
no
no
no
2 - 4(0 - 3)
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