FC Barcelona will be looking to secure their eleventh win of the La Liga season tonight when they take on city rivals RCD Espanyol at the Camp Nou (21:00 CET). A home victory would also extend Barça's lead at the top of La Liga to four points ahead of Sunday's bumper clash between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. Diego Simeone's side have -- for the most part -- been able to match the Blaugrana's blistering pace at the top but they will face one of their toughest tests of the season so far in Ernesto Valverde's high-flying Basques.
In that sense, this could be a fantastic opportunity for Gerardo Martino's side to put some daylight between themselves and the rest of the chasing pack. After all, we can be almost certain of a win tonight, right?
It was a similar arrogance that arguably cost Atleti the three points in their trip to Catalunya -- heavy favourites but eventual losers as Espanyol shocked La Liga with a narrow 1-0 win. Characteristically, Espanyol were not and have not been able to build upon that victory and therefore enter tonight's match without a win in their last two fixtures. On paper, this is a complete mismatch, but that doesn't mean that Martino and Barcelona will be able to rest on their laurels.
Instead, Barça should field a strong line-up featuring the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Piqué and Neymar. With an extra day or two to rest before their UEFA Champions League clash with AC Milan, the Blaugrana can afford to play the stars -- but will it be enough to secure those three points? Predict the score of tonight's match by commenting with your prediction below. Best of luck!