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Sports

Barca takes on Espanyol in Catalan derby

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Barcelona, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona will aim to continue its run of dominance over Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Saturday when the two sides face off at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat.

Barcelona has won the last six meetings between the sides, and owns an 11- match unbeaten streak in head-to-head meetings.

Espanyol has only managed to score once in the last six matchups between the rivals, and it came earlier this season in a 5-1 defeat.

Sergio Garcia handed Espanyol a surprising lead against Barca at the Nou Camp in November, but the hosts stormed back to score five unanswered goals to claim a 5-1 victory.

That same sort of result is certainly possible with Barca riding high after advancing the Champions League semifinals in midweek with a 5-1 aggregate win over PSG.

Barca has now reached the semifinals in Europe's premier club competition in seven of the past eight years, but Luis Enrique's men would be wise not to overlook Espanyol with the club owning just a two-point lead on Real Madrid at the top of the league.

Madrid also reached the last four of the Champions League this past week by edging rivals Atletico Madrid, 1-0.

Carlo Ancelotti's team received a favorable draw as well in getting Juventus in the last four, so a return to the final to play for a second straight title is certainly a possibility.

However, Real will also have to turn its attention back to La Liga this weekend for a trip to mid-table Celta Vigo, which is even more difficult due to a rash of injuries to key players.

Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale will each miss out on the fixture, but Ancelotti will at least have defender Marcelo back from suspension.

Atletico Madrid will try to bounce back from being eliminated from the Champions League with a win at home over Elche, which sits six points above the relegation places.

Valencia holds a two-point lead of Sevilla for the final Champions League place, and Los Che hosts second-from-the-bottom Granada on Monday, while Sevilla entertains Rayo Vallecano one day earlier.

Almeria hosts Eibar in a match that holds huge importance in the relegation battle, while Deportivo is also in the midst of a fight for survival and travels to Malaga.

Levante is just one point above the drop zone and travels to Getafe, Real Sociedad tangles with Villarreal, and on Friday, Athletic Bilbao edged Cordoba, 1-0, with a 56th-minute goal from Benat Etxebarria.