Betting Tip: Barcelona vs Espanyol
One of the biggest Spanish derby matches takes place on Saturday evening, with Barcelona welcoming neighbours Espanyol to the Camp Nou. Despite losing one of their star names in Neymar Jr during the summer transfer window, Barcelona have made a 100% winning start to the new season, and Ernesto Valverde’s side will once again be the firm favourites to add another three points to their tally this weekend.
Barcelona vs Espanyol
Spanish La Liga – Camp Nou, Barcelona– Saturday 9th September – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 7/1 at Ladbrokes |
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Barcelona
EspanyolMatch Preview
With visitors Espanyol having registered just a single point from their opening two La Liga fixtures, supporters at the Camp Nou will be confident of securing victory over their city rivals, with Barcelona’s new look attacking line-up set to be unleashed. The Catalan giants have yet to concede a goal in the Primera Liga, and with Espanyol having found the back of the net just once all season, this could well be a game in which the betting punters back heavily.
Barcelona Team News & Form
Having become the second most expensive player in football history following his arrival from German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, Ousmane Dembélé could well make his Barcelona debut in front of a packed house at the Camp Nou. The Frenchman could well line up alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack, assuming the South American duo return unscathed from international duty this week. Barcelona have seen off both Real Betis and Alaves with ease already this season, with Messi already having two goals to his name. The Argentina superstar recovered from a missed penalty to score two second half goals in the win against Alaves, that has left Barca second in the table, only behind Real Sociedad due to the number of goals scored. Aside from this, Valverde is expected to name a predictable line-up, with Spanish quartet Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba starting the game.
Espanyol Team News & Form
Espanyol suffered a surprise home defeat to Leganes before the international break, with Quique Sánchez Flores’ men having recorded a well-earned draw against Sevilla on the opening weekend of the season. Espanyol added the experience of Brazilian centre-back Naldo and former Valencia winger Pablo Piatti to their squad over the summer, however they also lost their main attacking threat in Felipe Caicedo. As a result, the emphasis is on Leo Baptista to come up with the goals for the away team.
Head to Head
The two teams have met 35 times over the years, with Espanyol having only ever defeated their rivals on two occasions. With their last victory coming back in 2009, it is safe to say that Espanyol are the major underdogs for victory, with Barcelona having won the last three encounters between the duo, with an aggregate score of 12-1.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Taking all of this information into consideration, there are a number of markets that are worth utilising for those looking to place a bet on this match. Backing the home side to win both the first and second half see’s the odds increase dramatically, with Ladbrokes offering their customers odds of 1/2 for this market. Elsewhere, betting on there being over 2.5 goals in the game is a common prediction for Barcelona matches, however at odds of 1/3 from Ladbrokes, this is well worth taking advantage of.
Top Betting Tip
However, our top betting tip for the match is to back Barcelona to win and over 3.5 goals to be scored, which is available at odds of 1/1 with Ladbrokes.