Espanyol vs Barcelona Prediction & Betting Tips - LaLiga

Prediction published on 13/05/2023, 12:58  by Daniel Ngulu in LaLiga Predictions

Barcelona are on the verge of winning their first La Liga title in four years, and may be crowned champions even before they take to the field for the Catalan derby, away to Espanyol on Sunday. Ahead of this game Barcelona have a 13-point lead with five matches to go while Espanyol are deep in the relegation fight, four points away from safety. Espanyol sank further down after a 3-2 loss to Sevilla in their last game and now they face an opponent they haven't really fared well against, and will not want their cross-town rivals to bag the league title at their RCDE Stadium. In nine straight meetings with Barcelona, Espanyol are without a win but they have drawn three of the last five, including the last two meetings. Espanyol have won just once in their last five matches and come here with three losses in the five matches, conceding three goals or more in each of those losses. The hosts have two clean sheets in five matches and have failed to score in one of the five games.

Barcelona are coming from a 1-0 win over Osasuna which put them just three points away from another league title, their first since winning the title in 2019. Barcelona will play after Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid over the weekend and any slipups by the two Madrid sides will mean Barcelona bag the title before kicking a ball. Either way, Barcelona have dominated this derby and will go into this game as favorites once again. They have three wins in their last five matches and have four clean sheets in the five matches, a depiction of their great defensive performances this season in La Liga. The visitors have however scored more than a goal in just one of their last five matches, in recent games struggling in attack. Their last away league game ended in defeat, at Rayo Vallecano, and this time there’s little indication they will struggle in the derby.