One of two unbeaten streaks is about to end on Sunday when Barcelona hosts Espanyol at Camp Nou as part of Week 16 of the La Liga season. Barcelona will put their eight-game unbeaten but unimpressive streak against an Espanyol team that has a nine-game unbeaten streak of their own.
Barcelona vs. Espanyol Match Details, TV Schedule and Live Stream Links
- Date: December 18, Sunday
- Venue: Camp Nou in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Start Time: 2:45 PM ET, 7:45 PM GMT
- Channel: NBC Sports Live (USA), Sky Sports 1
- Live Stream: NBC Live, Sky GO, fuboTV
Barcelona vs. Espanyol Preview
The reigning La Liga champions have been largely unimpressive in their campaign this season despite being on an eight-game unbeaten run. Barcelona has only managed five wins with three draws during that stretch as they trail Real Madrid by six points in the La Liga table.
The Blaugrana are in a disappointing form at Camp Nou but they have not lost against Espanyol since 2009. However, Espanyol midfielder David Lopez is confident heading into Derbi barceloni as his club is in very fine form.
"It's been a long time since we last beat them but now is a good time because the team has realized we're capable of great things. We're on form and feeling confident and we need to take advantage of that," Lopez said, via Reuters.
During Espanyol's nine-game unbeaten run, they knocked off Real Betis, Alaves, Leganes and Sporting Gijon. In their last game against Gijon, Felipe Calciedo and Leo Baptistao each scored to give them a 2-1 victory.
Possible Formation and Starting XI
Barcelona (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Jordi Alba, Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Sergi Roberto; Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta; Neymar, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez
Espanyol (4-4-2): Diego Lopez; Aaron Caricol, Diego Reyes, Oscar Duarte, Javi Lopez; Javi Fuego, Jose Manuel Jurado, David Lopez, Leo Baptistao; Gerard, Felipe Caicedo
Prediction: Barcelona wins 2-0.
