As La Liga gets to its final stages, every game is more important. Saturday's Catalunyan derby will surely be one of those matches you don't want to miss, since these is one of the most enraged rivalries in Spanish football, with an added bonus for Espanyol, given the fact that if they can defeat Barcelona, they could be depriving them from the first place.
The hosts form in their most recent games has propelled them to the ninth spot of La Liga's standings. Sergio Gonzalez's men have managed to keep a clean sheet in five of their most recent seven games at Cornellá-El Prat Stadium. Furthermore, Los Periquitos haven't lost in their last seven games, helping their chances for a spot in European tournaments next season. As part of the team's intentions of making their fans attending this game, Sergio Gonzalez and the club shared a video clip on the team's Youtube channel, with the legend "You're all called up for the derby"
On the other side of the pitch, Luis Enrique and his men can't afford to slip when they face their neighbors. In order to do that, they will need Lionel Messi's best ever performance at Cornellá-El Prat, where he has only been able to score two goals in his eight visits with Los Blaugranas. This is the worst goal scoring average for Messi in any stadium in Spain, and with Real Madrid breathing down their back, Los Culés need to keep their momentum going.
Even if Messi's form has not been as brilliant as expected when playing Catalunya's derby, the rest of the team has managed to win the last six games against Espanyol, including friendlies. Their last official meeting at Espanyol's ground ended up with a controversial 1-0 win for Los Blaugranas, while their previous game this season saw Luis Enrique's side blast Los Periquitos 5-1. Coach Luis Enrique knows the relevance of this game, and he urged his players to keep fighting for every ball, since most of these games are solved in favor of whichever side shows more intensity.
Catalunyan derby lineups
Espanyol's lineup:Casilla, Arbilla, Alvaro, Moreno, Duarte; Cañas, Abraham. Lucas, Alvarez, Sergio García, Caicedo.
Barcelona's lineup: Bravo, Piqué, Sergio, Iniesta,Suárez, Messi, Neymar, Rafinha, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Alves.
Espanyol's subs: López, Salva, Stuani, Javi López, Fuentes, Colotto, Montañés.
Barcelona's subs: Ter Stegen, Rakitic, Xavi, Pedro, Sergi Roberto, Adriano & Mathieu
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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