Barcelona take on the visitors Espanyol in the round 31 match of Spanish LaLiga. The match will be played on Saturday, April 11th at Camp Nou (Barcelona).
Barcelona are aiming for maximum success, although not everything has gone to plan. The “Blaugrana,” after a trophyless 2023/2024 season, replaced their legend Xavi with Hansi Flick. Under him, the only failure came in the UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Inter Milan, while domestically they won everything possible. In January, they defended the Super Cup title with wins over Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. However, in the Copa del Rey semifinal they suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat away to Atlético Madrid, and despite a strong response in the return leg, scoring three goals, they were eliminated. Their rivalry with Atletico continues, and in La Liga they secured a controversial win last round, extending their lead over Real Madrid. This week in the Champions League, however, they lost 0-2 after going down to ten men, and now must think about a comeback. Their recent results show strong domestic form with consistent victories. At the same time, performances in Europe remain unstable and unpredictable.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Espanyol, after another relegation to the Segunda in 2023, appointed Manolo González, who managed to bring them back to La Liga at the first attempt and keep them there. In the new season, the Catalan side looked like one of the biggest surprises up until December, staying in European spots and even challenging for 5th place. However, after the short winter break, everything went wrong — they simply stopped winning, and even draws became rare. By April, they had dropped into the lower half of the table. After the international break, they were held to a 0-0 draw by Real Betis. Their recent form shows a clear decline, especially in attacking productivity. Overall, Espanyol struggle to regain the momentum they had earlier in the season.
In 2022, both derbies ended in draws. However, before and after that, Barcelona dominated, including a 2-0 win in January. Barcelona will likely already be thinking about their next clash with Atletico, but they should still beat such opponents convincingly — the pick is Barcelona with a -1.5 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Barcelona to win with -1.5 handicap.
