Barcelona vs Espanyol 12/8/18 - La Liga Picks & Predictions

By: Paul |

Last Updated: 08/08/2019 at 1:19 PM ET

Espanyol have been really solid so far in the season but have not been very good lately. Even so, they have been a really tough nut to crack at home, where they will now play host to Barcelona on Saturday. Barcelona are coming off a string of consecutive wins and will now look to extend their winning streak.

Espanyol (6-5-3) are coming into this match after a pretty anxious affair at home in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 32. They had lost in the first leg on the road by 1-2 so they needed a win here, a win that took long to come as they scored the only goal of the match at the 76th minute. That win also put an end to their three-match losing streak, as Espanyol have now dropped to the 8th spot of the league table with 21 points. They have been excellent at home so far in the season (5-1-0), where they have also kept four clean sheets, five including their Copa del Rey match.
Barcelona (8-2-4) had a much easier job in the Copa del Rey mid-week, where they destroyed Leonesa by a massive 1-4 at home. After a 1-0 win on the road in the first leg they didn’t need to risk much in the second leg in order to qualify. Last week they had an easy job against Villarreal at home, winning by 0-2. Barcelona are still leading the La Liga with 28 points, one ahead of Sevilla. They have been strong on the road this season (3-1-2), where they also have three wins and a draw in other competitions.

Barcelona have been great in this venue and last lost here in 2007 (6-0-5 since then). They have been excellent in this match-up and will look for another win here, but Espanyol are not to be taken lightly. They have been great at home this season and usually avoid bad losses to Barcelona, so we might see a tough match between the two here.

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