Espanyol v Barcelona

We are not afraid of Barcelona, but we know we have to go to war. We are going to play football, but we know that we are facing the best team in the world, and we need to use our own weapons. We must be a united group, and if we are not it will be become difficult for us to win. We will try to give joy to the people. We must be calm, and feeling the support of the fans will give us strength."

Blimey! The words of Espanyol's striker Pablo Daniel Osvaldo make tonight's match sound like it could be a little bit feisty. I can't see this being anything other than a Barça win, mind; 46 goals in 15 matches, including that shellacking of Madrid in recent weeks. They are a team playing football perfectly. They are at the pinnacle and may be there for some time to come.

Espanyol v Barcelona 

So what have Espanyol got going for them? Well, they've won every match at Estadi Cornellà-El Prat in La Liga this season. In the past two home matches against Barcelona they haven't lost either – last April when they drew 0-0 in the league, and in the Copa del Rey in January 2009, when the scoreline was the same. They're currently a very creditable fourth in La Liga too, but have scored only 17 goals in their 15 league matches. So if they are to get anything from tonight's game it will likely be a draw at best.

Espanyol Kameni; Chica, Forlin, V Ruiz, Didac; Baena, J Marquez, Callejon, Verdu; Luis Garcia, Osvaldo
Substitutes: Cristian, David Garcia, Amat, Datolo, S Garcia, A Vazquez, Ivan Alonso

Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abida; Busquets, Iniesta, Xavi; ;Messi, Pedro, Villa
Substitutes: Pinto, Adriano, Mascherano, Maxwell, Bojan, Keita, Thiago

Match Start : SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2012  On Estadi Cornella-El Prat