Barcelona vs Espanyol Prediction: the Goals in the Derby

Prediction for the La Liga Barcelona vs Espanyol match, which will take place on December 31st. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Barcelona did not play friendly matches during and even after the World Cup ended. There were good reasons for that because many Catalans were in the national teams, and the rest recovered for the difficult second part of the season. Recall that Barcelona finished ignominiously in the Champions League, focusing on the home tournaments. In this case, the Catalans went to pause on an optimistic note. Barcelona has a 4-match winning streak in two tournaments.

As for their position, Barcelona is leading the league with 37 points, two points ahead of Real Madrid. Also, Lewandowski will not be playing with an accuracy of assists. By the way, he has the highest rating in La Liga and is the top scorer in the division. Barcelona has the longest ball possession and most often wins in the air. Barça is second in La Liga in shots and accuracy of assists.

At the official level, Espanyol has won the last two matches in the Spanish Cup against Rincon and Atletico Paso. But in friendlies, Espanyol could have been better: they lost to Torino and tied with Mechelen. The Parrots are in 16th position with 12 points, one behind Sevilla from the relegation zone. Espanyol's away statistics are 13th in the division, +1=4-2, 8:9 goal difference. Espanyol concedes quite a bit on the road for a team struggling for survival.

Espanyol, in away games, often plays defensively and does not concede many goals, which the statistics prove. Barcelona scores the most in La Liga, but their best scorer won't join them in the upcoming match, hurting the leader's offense. We believe visitors will not shoot more than twice in the Catalan derby. 

We have noted that the confrontation between the Catalan clubs has been under lately. The last time a TO (2.5) was reached was in September 2017; since then, the teams have played five times. In addition, Barcelona has won the recent home games by a shutout. We wouldn't be surprised if this trend continues. 

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