Barcelona look to maintain their five-point lead atop the La Liga standings on Saturday when they face city rivals Espanyol at Camp Nou.
Barcelona look for revenge after Espanyol's 2-1 victory at Camp Nou last season, and they come into the game after Wednesday's Champions League victory over Dynamo Kiev, which saw them win their group. They remain unbeaten in league play this season after a 3-1 triumph over Deportivo last Saturday.
Espanyol, meanwhile, are reeling at the moment with four consecutive league losses to their name. They lost at home 4-0 last week to Racing just a week after dropping another 4-0 result to Atlético Madrid. This slide has seen them dip into 14th place in the table.
Barça will have to play the match without Lionel Messi, who is ruled out by Pep Guardiola, but Pedro will likely go from the start. He has no other major injury concerns, but will likely rest some players to keep the squad as fit as possible.
Espanyol will be without David García due to injury, but several key players will be late decisions for the visitors. Iván de la Peña will make a bid to be fit to start, and Raúl Tamudo, José Callejón and Moisés Hurtado are racing against time.
Barcelona, despite being in a fixture crunch as of late, will not want to let a repeat of last season occur. Expect the home side to come out strong and claim victory.
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