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  • Espanyol vs Barcelona Predictions: Lightning Not Set To Strike Twice

Espanyol vs Barcelona Predictions: Lightning Not Set To Strike Twice

15:15 Sunday 4 February 2018
Simon Harrison
EVENT ENDED!
  • Espanyol have found the back of the net at home versus the likes of Barca and Atletico Madrid recently - Both Teams to Score (Yes) — 10/13 10Bet
  • In the Copa del Rey first leg, Oscar Melendo’s solitary strike came in second-half stoppage time - Highest Scoring Half - Second — 21/20 William Hill

Match Preview

These teams are going to be sick of the sight of each other, ahead of our Espanyol vs Barcelona preview and football odds, due to the fact they have already had to play this fixture twice in the last couple of weeks in the Copa del Rey quarter finals.

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Espanyol have won just one of their last four home La Liga games, with Quique Sanchez Flores growing frustrating with the fact that his squad are yet to receive the right levels of reinforcement during the January transfer window. Barcelona are in excellent form and should kick on again.

Our Espanyol vs Barcelona predictions back the Blaugrana to have learned from their last trip to Cornella in the cup, and their excellent form in all competitions points towards them being able to put that knowledge to good use and take three points in our La Liga predictions.

Recent defeats against Girona and Espanyol show that this Espanyol side are certainly not unbeatable at home, but Barcelona will have to be careful regardless. Atletico Madrid lost their unbeaten La Liga run here back in late December.

Espanyol vs Barcelona Prediction and Betting Advice

Espanyol have scored in two of their last three games at home in the Spanish top flight, with the likes of Sergio Garcia, Leo Baptistao and Gerard Moreno posing a big threat on the break. Barcelona can be susceptible to committing plenty of bodies forward, which could open the door for the hosts to nip in behind and cause problems.

10Bet offer the best odds on both teams hitting the back of the net in this Catalan derby, Barca have recently conceded twice on the road against Real Sociedad, with Eusebio’s men taking a similar approach when trying to get forward at pace to cause the opposition problems while they are unbalanced.

Espanyol did manage to take a late 1-0 win in the first leg of their cup quarter-final tie against Ernesto Valverde’s men, with a late Oscar Melendo securing an unexpected result for the Cornella-based side. Barcelona have since picked their tails up and secured comfortable wins against Real Betis and then Flores’ men again at Camp Nou.

Our Espanyol vs Barcelona bets back the second half to be more entertaining than the first. In the recent Copa del Rey clash between these two sides, Espanyol managed to keep a clean sheet and should be confident of working hard and sitting deep to try and frustrate the visitors in similar fashion again. Down to this, they will target a clean sheet by half time as an important milestone to hit during a tough game.

William Hill offers the best odds for there to be more goals scored in the second half, which was the case when Melendo struck late in the cup. Espanyol will be trying to hold out for as long as possible, before Barca’s talent can do its work against more tired legs. For that reason, Valverde’ men might have to bide their time before hitting the back of the net in this Catalan clash.

Our Espanyol vs Barcelona betting tips suggest that this will be another tough test for Barcelona, but they should have the quality and the know-how to tip the balance this time against a home side that will do all that they can to knock their local rivals off their stride.

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