Barcelona look for a winning start to the new year as they face local rivals Espanyol at Cornellà in a massive Catalan derby in their first La Liga match of 2026.
The Blaugrana can open up a temporary seven-point gap at the top if they can win a ninth consecutive league match, but they’ll be facing a red-hot Espanyol side who are really confident that this is their best chance to finally beat their local enemies.
Here’s how we think Hansi Flick will line up his troops for Saturday’s battle:
Defense
This is a
massive game and Barça are coming off a two-week holiday break, so there’s zero doubt that Flick will go with his strongest possible side for this one.
The big storyline ahead of the derby is the return of Joan Garcia to his former club, and the goalkeeper will certainly be under immense pressure from the home crowd and his former teammates. In front of him we will see the usual back four of Jules Kounde, Pau Cubarsí, Gerard Martín and Alejandro Balde, who will try their best to help limit the amount of work Joan will have to do on the night.
Midfield
Barça get a massive reinforcement for this one as Pedri returns after missing the final game of 2025 against Villarreal with a small hamstring issue. The two-week break has allowed him to shake off the issue completely, and The Wizard will start alongside Eric Garcia in the double pivot. Fermín López is expected to start in the number 10 role, needing a big performance to bounce back from a few poor games since coming back from injury.
Attack
Lamine Yamal put on a show the last time Barça played away at Espanyol, and the teenager will start on the right looking for another big performance. Raphinha is expected to start on the left, though the Brazilian could be the number 10 if Flick decides to go with a more attacking lineup with Marcus Rashford on the wing. Ferran Torres is the favorite to start up front, but don’t be surprised if Robert Lewandowski gets the nod to add some size and strength against a very physical Espanyol team.
Possible XI: Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Martín, Balde; Eric, Pedri; Yamal, Fermín, Raphinha; Ferran (4-2-3-1)
How do you think Barcelona should line up against Espanyol? Let us know your thoughts, predictions and teams in the comments below!
