Barcelona’s line-up in Xavi’s debut as head coach is known. The definitive successor of Ronald Koeman chooses on Saturday evening in the city derby against Espanyol for, among others, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay, and also lets seventeen-year-old Ilias Akhomach make his debut as a basic force. The clash between the clubs from Barcelona at the Camp Nou will start at 9 p.m. and is led by referee Carlos del Cerro Grande.
Gerard Piqué, Sergi Roberto, Eric García and Nico González have put their respective injuries behind them and are part of the match roster. That does not apply to Sergiño Dest, Ousmane Dembélé, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Pedri and Sergio Aguero. Daniel Alves is only eligible to play from January. Xavi’s match selection includes five players who are not officially part of the A-selection: Gavi, Nico, Abde Ezzalzouli, Alejandro Baldé and Ilias Akhomach. Gavi, Nico and Akhomach nevertheless appear at the starting signal. That means that, along with Mingueza, Piqué, Eric García, Jordi Alba and Busquets, no fewer than eight self-trained players are in the base.
Barcelona have been waiting for a month, including the international period, for a victory in LaLiga. Since the 3-1 victory over Valencia on October 17, they lost to both Rayo Vallecano (1-0) and Real Madrid (1-2) and the Catalans faced Deportivo Alavés (1-1) and Celta de Vigo (3-3 ) no further than a draw. The double confrontation with Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League, on the other hand, was won: 1-0 and 0-1. Espanyol is still waiting for the first victory outside the home. Vicente Moreno’s team has been mixed with four victories (all in front of the home crowd), five draws and four defeats.
Barcelona have won 17 of their last 22 encounters with Espanyol and had to concede 5 draws. In 16 of these 22 duels los Azulgrana plus the zero. Barcelona have won each of their last 11 encounters with los Periquitos, while Espanyol has not beaten the city’s rival since February 2009 (1-2). In that game, Pique, Sergio Busquets and Xavi were on the field.
Barcelona line-up: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Pique, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba; busquets; Nico Gonzalez, Frenkie de Jong; Gavi, Depay and Akhomach.