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Played
January 8, 2012 3:30 PM EST
Estadi Cornellà-El Prat — Cornellà de Llobregat
Referee: Javier Turienzo Álvarez
Attendance: 35122
January 8, 2012 3:30 PM EST
Estadi Cornellà-El Prat — Cornellà de Llobregat
Referee: Javier Turienzo Álvarez
Attendance: 35122
86′
Álvaro
La Liga Preview: Espanyol - Barcelona
The Catalan derby is upon us as Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino lock horns in league action on Sunday night.
By Martin Macdonald
Getty
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PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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ESPANYOL
 Alvarez Galan, Moreno, Forlin, Vila Garcia, Verdu, Romaric, Weiss Thievy, Alvaro
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BARCELONA
 Valdes Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta Messi, Cesc, Alexis |
Espanyol goes into the Barcelona derby with a number of players suffering from niggling injuries. Walter Pandiani is still a doubt as he continues to battle back from a sore thigh muscle. Javi Lopez may be out until next week with a bruised left fibula and Juan Albin is still recovering from the surgery he underwent in September on his right abdominal muscle.
There is still some concern over the fitness of Raul Baena who is struggling with a left quadriceps injury, but on a positive note goalkeeper Carlos Kameni is back in training after his hamstring problem.
Pep Guardiola only has two injury problems in the Barcelona squad. Ibrahim Afellay and David Villa remain long-term absentees and will be out of action for the foreseeable future.
Victor Valdes, and Andres Iniesta returned to training on Thursday after sitting out the session on Wednesday.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- The last time Barcelona played Espanyol, Pep Guardiola's side won the match 2-0, with Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique both scoring to seal the victory.
- Barcelona's first La Liga match of 2011 saw the club defeat Levante 2-1 at Camp Nou, with Pedro bagging a brace to see his side to victory.
- The Camp Nou giant has scored well more than double the amount of goals that Espanyol has notched up in the league so far. Pep Guardiola's side has netted 50 times but its rival has only scored 17.
- Espanyol's entire squad has scored the exact same amount of goals that Lionel Messi has scored in La Liga this season.
- Espanyol's last match saw the Catalan side lose 2-1 against Spanish Seguna B outfit Cordoba in the Copa del Rey.
- Joan Verdu plays his former side in this match. The Espanyol midfielder was a product of Barcelona's youth system and even made an appearance in the Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona
- 18.28 %
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Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona
- 15.95 %
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Espanyol 0-5 Barcelona
- 15.19 %
| La Liga (LIGA) | May 5, 2012 | Barcelona 4 - Espanyol 0 |
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| La Liga (LIGA) | Jan 8, 2012 | Espanyol 1 - Barcelona 1 |
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| La Liga (LIGA) | May 8, 2011 | Barcelona 2 - Espanyol 0 |
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| La Liga (LIGA) | Dec 18, 2010 | Espanyol 1 - Barcelona 5 |
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| La Liga (LIGA) | Apr 17, 2010 | Espanyol 0 - Barcelona 0 |
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Espanyol
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| May 13, 2012 | Espanyol 1 - Sevilla 1 | LIGA |
| May 5, 2012 | Barcelona 4 - Espanyol 0 | LIGA |
| May 1, 2012 | Ciudad de Murcia 2 - Espanyol 1 | LIGA |
| Apr 28, 2012 | Espanyol 0 - Sporting Gijon 3 | LIGA |
| Apr 22, 2012 | Atletico Madrid 3 - Espanyol 1 | LIGA |
Barcelona
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| May 25, 2012 | Athletic Bilbao 0 - Barcelona 3 | ESPC |
| May 12, 2012 | Betis 2 - Barcelona 2 | LIGA |
| May 5, 2012 | Barcelona 4 - Espanyol 0 | LIGA |
| May 2, 2012 | Barcelona 4 - Malaga 1 | LIGA |
| Apr 29, 2012 | Rayo Vallecano 0 - Barcelona 7 | LIGA |
- La Liga's Bosman list: Albelda, Maresca, Palop and the players available for free in Spain
- La Liga Team of the Week Round 38: Ozil and Raul Garcia make seventh appearance while Tamudo debuts
- Barcelona 4-0 Espanyol: Messi hits four to give Guardiola an emphatic Camp Nou swansong
- Player Ratings: Barcelona 4-0 Espanyol
| 25 | Cristian Álvarez | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Raúl Rodríguez | Defender |
| 5 | Jordi Amat | Defender |
| 15 | Héctor Alfredo Moreno | Defender |
| 18 | Juan Daniel Forlín | Defender |
| 22 | Dídac Vilà | Defender |
| 10 | Verdú | Midfielder |
| 11 | Romaric | Midfielder |
| 17 | Vladimir Weiss | Midfielder |
| 9 | Sergio García de la Fuente | Striker |
| 39 | Thievy Bifoum | Striker |
| 13 | Kiko Casilla | Goalkeeper |
| 14 | Galán | Defender |
| 8 | Álvaro | Striker |
| 16 | Javier López Rodríguez | Defender |
| 23 | Jesús Dátolo | Midfielder |
| 30 | Cristian Gómez | Midfielder |
| 6 | Rui Fonte | Striker |
| 1 | Víctor Valdés | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Daniel Alves | Defender |
| 3 | Gerard Piqué | Defender |
| 5 | Carles Puyol | Defender |
| 22 | Éric Abidal | Defender |
| 4 | Cesc Fàbregas | Midfielder |
| 6 | Xavi | Midfielder |
| 8 | Andrés Iniesta Luján | Midfielder |
| 16 | Sergio Busquets Burgos | Midfielder |
| 9 | Alexis Sánchez | Striker |
| 10 | Lionel Messi | Striker |
| 13 | José Pinto Colorado | Goalkeeper |
| 21 | Adriano | Midfielder |
| 24 | Andreu Fontàs Prat | Defender |
| 11 | Thiago Alcántara | Midfielder |
| 15 | Seydou Keita | Midfielder |
| 14 | Javier Mascherano | Midfielder |
| 17 | Pedro | Striker |
| Héctor Alfredo Moreno | |
| Position: | Defender |
| Squad Number: | 15 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Andrés Iniesta Luján | |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Squad Number: | 8 |
| Games | Goals | YC | RC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Results
Times In EST
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lionel Messi
Striker Barcelona |
50 | 10 |
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Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker Real Madrid |
46 | 12 |
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Radamel Falcao
Striker Atlético de Madrid |
24 | 5 |
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Gonzalo Higuaín
Striker Real Madrid |
22 | 0 |
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Karim Benzema
Striker Real Madrid |
21 | 0 |