After a dreadful two-week international break, Barcelona finally return to action today as they face crosstown rivals Espanyol at the Camp Nou.

This is has been a difficult summer for the Blaugrana with boardroom crisis and poor transfer activity, but in the end Barça are still one of the top teams in the world and have signed one of the most exciting young players in Europe to replace Neymar.

Ousmane Dembélé is expected to make his debut tonight, and he might be the perfect partner for Lionel Messi. Dembélé is quick, skilled and intelligent, and will certainly combine with Messi to create many goals once the two get acquainted.

Espanyol will prove a tough first test for Dembélé, and the young Frenchman will probably be on the receiving end of a few dangerous tackles if he’s given a chance to play, but if he passes the test of a Catalan Derby with flying colors, he’ll be ready for anything that comes his way, including Juventus in the Champions League next Tuesday.

Barça really need the win to stay top of the table and the Camp Nou could witness the start of the Dembélé Era. This is a must-watch game. Don’t miss it.

MATCH INFO

Date/Time: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 8:45pm local time, 7:45pm BST (UK & Nigeria), 2:45pm ET, 11:45am PT (USA), 12:15am IST (India, Sunday)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA

Television: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), Sky Sports Main Event (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), SONY TEN 2 (India)

Online streaming: beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA), Sky GO (UK), FuboTV (7-day free trial, click here to sign up)

LINEUPS

Barcelona starting XI:

Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta; Messi, Suárez, Deulofeu

Espanyol starting XI:

P. López; Sánchez, D. López, Hermoso, Aarón; Diop, Fuego, Darder, Piatti; Gerard, Baptistao