There is nothing Espanyol would like better than to put a dent into the title hopes of their more illustrious neighbours, while a good result against the Catalans would also keep los Periquitos in contention for European qualification.

Having successfully negotiated the Champions League tie with PSG, Barcelona head to Cornella El Prat looking to make another important step towards the La Liga trophy.

Espanyol are being regarded as the quintessential mid table side in La Liga seeing as how they rarely get involved in the relegation tussle or battle for European positions.

With the club operating on a tight budget, they don’t exactly have the means to attract world-class players, but the recent windfall from selling the naming right to the stadium could help los Periquitos in years to come.

While Espanyol probably didn’t even think about European qualification, the reality is they stand an outside chance of achieving a top 7 finish, with Europa League places now just four points away.

The team have been in very good form of late, defeating Villarreal and Athletic before sharing spoils with Levante, but it is the local derby against Barca that will see their six-match unbeaten run put to a serious test.

But, with the hosts having nothing to lose at the moment, you should know that Espanyol can be backed at 12.00 (11/1) to claim maximum points.

Felipe Mattioni has been ruled out through a muscle problem, while Victor Sanchez is banned. Winger Lucas Vazquez will have an extra motive to help his parent club Real Madrid by stopping Barca from winning.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-2): Casilla – Arbilla, A. Gonzalez, Moreno, Duarte – Vazquez, Canas, Javi Lopez, V. Alvarez – Sergio Garcia, Caicedo.

Barcelona have put themselves in a great position to win the second treble of major titles in history, and it remains to be seen whether Luis Enrique can enjoy a perfect first season as a head coach at Camp Nou.

The Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao will be the final game of the season, while the Catalans also hope to lift the Champions League trophy having eased off to the semi-finals.

Barcelona recorded a 5-1 aggregate win over very good PSG side, meaning they can now shift their focus back to the league campaign.

A hard-fought victory over Valencia ensured the Catalans remained two points clear at the La Liga summit and they are now in for yet another difficult match.

Defeating local rivals Espanyol at Cornella El Prat will be no easy task, but Barca are, nonetheless, available at 1.83 (5/6) for a half-time/full-time win.

Luis Enrique has no fresh injury worries to contend with, although he is expected to continue his rotation policy after the midweek game.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Bravo – Alves, Pique, Mathieu, Adriano – Rakitic, Mascherano, Xavi – Messi, Suarez, Pedro.