Barcelona depends on itself to finish 2022 as the leader of LaLiga Santander, something it will achieve if it wins Espanyol in the derby this Saturday (2:00 p.m.). Diego Martínez's team visits the Camp Nou in search of oxygen to get away from the always suffocating bottom of the table.
The match, which will be played at the Camp Nou, will begin at 2:00 p.m. and can be seen on Movistar LaLiga. The La Vanguardia website will also offer all the live news of the match minute by minute after the referee's initial whistle. Check here the rest of the matches of matchday 15, the results and the Santander League table.
The azulgranas will finally be able to count, against prognosis, on striker Robert Lewandowski and defender Ronald Araújo who received a medical discharge. Xavi Hernández ruled out that the latter is going to be a starter. "He needs a competitive rhythm, it has been a long injury," explained the coach. As for Lewandowski, the Central Contentious Court of Madrid cautiously suspended the three-match ban on the Polish striker. Something that has not finished sitting well on the parakeet side.
Thus, Lewandowski will be able to once again be the Barça reference at the point of attack and increase the large numbers that he has at the start of the course. The 34-year-old striker is LaLiga's top scorer with 13 goals in 14 games and, in addition, he has accumulated four assists. Although, precisely, he was left without seeing a goal in the last two games, against Almería and Osasuna, where he ended up sent off.
With the release of Araújo, the Barça coach will have the entire first team squad available. Although the central Eric García arrives touched and will have less cash than before the World Cup, since the match against Espanyol will be the first after the withdrawal of Gerard Piqué.
For the Barcelona derby, the Camp Nou will see its capacity reduced to 95,877 spectators due to the partial demolition of the third tier of the south goal that was carried out during the break.
Espanyol, for their part, seeks to surprise the Barça stronghold that will allow them to gain self-esteem after an unsuccessful start to the season, since they are currently sixteenth in the standings.
Thus, while the sports management works in the offices to sign in January -the Mexican defender César Montes has been the first to arrive but still cannot be registered- the footballers will face the derby chasing an enormous emotional boost on the field.
And it is that the duel against Barcelona is always special for the locker room and fans, although no one hides the difficulty of the match against the current leader of the competition, who has not yet lost or conceded a goal at home in the League this season.
The coach, Diego Martínez, will not be able to count on the injured Keidi Bare or Adrià Pedrosa. And the striker Dani Gómez will not be there either, due to suspension.
Despite the fact that the team is always Espanyol's main asset, two proper names are, on paper, under the spotlight: the midfielder Sergi Darder, the team's driving force in the midfield, and the striker Joselu, parakeet top scorer with seven goals in the League and one in the Copa del Rey.
Also noteworthy is the return of Danish attacker Martin Braithwaite to the Camp Nou, his home for the last three seasons before signing for the blue and white club this summer. As a Barça player, Braithwaite played 58 games and scored ten goals in all seasons. As a parakeet, he already has three targets.
On the other hand, Espanyol faces a complicated challenge on a statistical level: the Camp Nou has not witnessed a blue and white victory since the 2008-09 season (1-2), counting all competitions. In fact, since then the parakeets have never added to the Barça fiefdom.
In addition to these fourteen defeats, the figures for the Blue and Whites in terms of goals are surprising: Barcelona have signed 41 goals in derbies and have only conceded three, a clear sign of their usual superiority. On Espanyol's last visit, however, the duel ended with a tight 1-0.
- Barcelona: Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Christensen, Marcos Alonso, Alba, Busquets, Gavi, Pedri, Raphinha, Ansu Fati and Lewandowski
- Spanish: Lecomte, Óscar Gil, Calero, Sergi Gómez, Cabrera, Oliván, Vini, Expósito, Darder, Braithwaite and Joselu
The environment: Barça TV workers will go on strike during the derby dispute to protest their working conditions.
