FC Barcelona host city rivals Espanyol

FC Barcelona host city rivals RCD Espanyol today evening as Barça head coach Gerardo Martino hopes to follow up his El Clasico victory with a win in his Catalan derby debut.

Barcelona are off to a tremendous start. While the season is still young, it seems like a special campaign could be developing at Camp Nou. Barca hope to keep that positive vibe alive in a La Liga clash with Espanyol.

The Blaugrana are unbeaten through 11 league matches with an eye-popping plus-26 goal differential. Although Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are doing their best to keep pace atop the table, Lionel Messi and Co. have looked nearly unstoppable at times.

Espanyol should provide a good test.

The Periquitos have already defeated Atletico, showing they can play the strong defensive style it takes to remain competitive with top opponents. Expect a similar approach against Barcelona.

Let's take a glance at all the key information for the La Liga encounter, followed by a breakdown of the top storyline and a match prediction.

Espanyol were able to keep the Atletico Madrid attack at bay when they faced off a couple weeks ago. Even though the Colchoneros won the possession battle, they struggled to break down the Periquitos' back line and failed to create many scoring chances.

It's going to take an even more extraordinary effort for Espanyol to slow down Barcelona, which are averaging three goals per match in league play. The amount of attacking talent on the Barca squad is enough to trouble even the best defensive groups.

Lionel Messi and Neymar grab most of the headlines, but it's the depth that has allowed the club to enjoy such consistent success in the early going. Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sanchez, Pedro and Xavi have all found a way to make a key impact at one time or another.

That's what makes beating Barcelona so difficult, especially at Camp Nou. A club may be able to slow down two or three players, but successfully defending the entire attack for 90 minutes is an uphill battle to say the least.

Espanyol will likely attempt to slow the pace and prevent Barcelona from completely dominating possession, but it's much easier said than done.

Barcelona didn't suffer from an emotional letdown after a hard-fought victory over rival Real Madrid; they bounced right back to easily handle Celta Vigo. They are operating like a well-oiled machine right now, and it's tough to imagine Espanyol stopping the run.

The Periquitos might be able to build the defensive wall for awhile, but eventually Barcelona should be able to break through.

They have too much talent and are in too good of form to pick against them right now, particularly while playing at home.

LIKELY LINE-UPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Montoya; Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta; Alexis, Messi, Neymar

Espanyol (4-2-3-1): Casilla; Lopez, Colotto, Moreno, Fuentes; D. Lopez, Sánchez; Garcia, Thievy, Pizzi; Stuani

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