Liga BBVA
Saturday, January 2, 16:00 GMT
Cornellà-El Prat
Fc Barcelona will would like to kick-begin 2016 with a triumph tomorrow evening when they set out over the city to tackle wild opponents RCD Espanyol at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat. With a vehement 4-0 win over Real Betis on Wednesday, the Blaugrana finished 2015 on top of La Liga and all the more essentially in great structure with a solid execution. The front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were on fine shape at the end of the day, and it's difficult to back against them conveying that frame into 2016.
Indeed, the terrifying believed is that Barça could yet enhance further, especially with the presentation and combination of Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal, both of whom are prone to be accessible from Monday onwards because of the characteristics of the LFP and their working hours. In fact, one may have suspected that Arda and Vidal would be accessible tomorrow, yet the LFP enrollment window doesn't open until Monday graciousness of people in general occasion and weekend.
That is unverified, yet exceptionally likely at the season of distribute in any case – never check out FC Barcelona for conceivably discovering a proviso.
Whatever the case, Luis Enrique will be discreetly certain headed into this Catalan derby; his side have been brilliant as of late, bobbing back well from three sequential draws that incited something of a scaled down emergency amongst some Culés on this site at any rate. Guangzhou Evergrande, River Plate and Real Betis have all been serenely dispatched – Barça's record in those three matches makes for noteworthy perusing: 10 objectives scored, not a solitary one surrendered.
Espanyol then again have been somewhat less noteworthy. They've as of late procured another chief, Constantin Galca, who most as of late drove Romanian goliaths, Steaua Bucharest to an alliance and container twofold in his just season in charge. Los Periquitos surged out of the doors to win their initial two matches under their new mentor, yet floundered in midweek against Sevilla, drooping to a 2-0 rout at the Ramon Sánchez Pizjuan.
On the in addition to side, Espanyol can brag a not too bad home record and will take comfort in the way that Barcelona have been famously moderate starters far from home up to this point this season. Culés then again will put accentuation on the "have" some portion of that sentence; absolutely we didn't watch too moderate out of the doors in one of our latest away matches, that excellent 0-4 triumph at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The stakes are comparative; Luis Enrique will most likely field a comparative group also – will a comparative destiny accordingly anticipate Espanyol tomorrow?
Group NEWS
BARCELONA
I must give a disclaimer forthright for this one: I'm accepting that the guidelines will keep on applying and that Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal are along these lines not able to play in this one. In that capacity, I'm excluding them in my manner of thinking for the group news; rather I anticipate saying them in midweek for our Copa del Rey match against the same restriction. With that off the beaten path I can likewise specify that there are no new harm or suspension concerns.
By one means or another, Lionel Messi maintained a strategic distance from any genuine harm when he was hip-checked in the shoulder/sanctuary by Antonio Adan (annoying Madridistas), so there truly is just the same old thing new to report. All things considered, somebody in the squad may have been hungover toward the beginning of today what with New Year's Eve falling the previous evening, however they'll have recuperated in time for this one.
Thinking seriously about this, that implies that Luis Enrique has opportunity to choose basically whoever he needs tomorrow. What's more, with it being "Derby Day", I hope to see something taking after the Gala XI begin procedures tomorrow.
Claudio Bravo will begin in objective, expecting to keep his fourth continuous clean sheet in all rivalries, and I think he will be helped by a backline of Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba. Both Piqué and Alba sat out the win over Betis completely, which implies they'll be new and prepared to go. Mascherano then again moved around a couple of distinctive positions with each of Enrique's substitutions, so if there's an uncertainty over any of my choices, it's Mascherano.
In front of them, Sergio Busquets was refreshed once the three focuses were secured on Wednesday, which implies we ought to hope to see him beginning again tomorrow. Andrés Iniesta will come back to commander the side, after Enrique permitted Messi an opportunity to lead the group out in his 500th appearance for the club, and I expect that Iniesta will be joined by his most recent accomplice in-wrongdoing, Sergi Roberto. No genuine rationale to that one, simply that Roberto is by all accounts in better frame and got a couple of minutes rest toward the end of the diversion in front of Rakitić.
Clearly, the front three pick themselves. Neymar was the stand out of the triumvirate not to get his name on the scoresheet on Wednesday, yet he did stun in his own privilege with a whirlwind of highlight minutes. Hell, on one more night he would have scored in any case, either by changing over that punishment, or by confronting a manager in less motivated structure than Antonio Adan. With Messi getting an objective, would we be able to authoritatively say that he's back to his best yet? Asking in light of the fact that it beyond any doubt would be amusing to have him back snatching an objective or three each amusement.
ESPANYOL
The uplifting news for Constantin Galca is that he can welcome back midfielder Papakouli Diop from suspension, after the Senegal universal sat out the misfortune to Sevilla. The awful news is that his midfield associates, Victor Sánchez and Jose Canas are both still out with wounds. In drawing nearer his first Catalan derby, Galca has been generally playful about his group's odds; he needs to assault with rhythm, profiting by any occasions in which the Blaugrana over-submit in assault to rapidly transform their oversights into chances and objectives at the flip side.
Be that as it may, he has additionally been down to earth with the press, not surrendering any hints in respect to whether he might pick to handle his three star players together – Marco Asensio has been a disclosure since marking on credit from Real Madrid, and he consolidates well with Felipe Caicedo and Gerard Moreno. Will we see every one of the three rejoined.