Barcelona are on the brink of winning the league title ahead of Thursday’s derby meeting with Espanyol at the RCDE Stadium.
The Blaugrana moved seven points clear at the top of La Liga with a 4-3 victory over Real Madrid in El Clasico at the weekend.
As a result, Hansi Flick‘s side will become champions if Real Madrid fail to beat Mallorca on Wednesday, and even if Los Blancos claim all three points, Barcelona can secure the title with a victory against their local rivals.
Meanwhile, Espanyol are sitting in 14th place in the standings after losing each of their last three matches, including a 3-2 defeat in Sunday’s clash with Leganes.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides
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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 217
Barcelona wins: 127
Draws: 46
Espanyol wins: 44
The Barcelona derby dates back to the 1928-29 season, and the fierce rivals have now locked horns on 217 occasions throughout history, with Barcelona certainly the dominant force in the fixture.
Indeed, Barcelona have won 127 of their 216 meetings, with Espanyol posting 44 victories, while there have also been 46 draws.
Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi is the all-time leading goalscorer in the Barcelona derby, having found the back of the net on 25 occasions while representing Barcelona, while Josep Escola is second in the list with 14.
The last meeting between the two sides took place in November 2024, with Barcelona running out 3-1 winners courtesy of a double from Dani Olmo and effort from Raphinha.
Barcelona also beat Espanyol 4-2 in May 2023, but two of their last four encounters have finished level; Espanyol’s last win over Barcelona was a 1-0 success in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final back in January 2018, but they have not managed to overcome their rivals in La Liga since February 2009.
Ivan de la Pena scored twice in the famous Espanyol victory at Camp Nou, with Yaya Toure‘s strike in the 62nd minute only proving to be a consolation, as the visitors secured all three points against a side that boasted the likes of Xavi, Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry.
Barcelona have dominated their La Liga meetings, winning 103 of their 177 games in the competition, suffering only 34 defeats, while they have managed 343 league goals against their rivals, and their unbeaten run against them in La Liga now stands at 27 matches.
Espanyol were actually relegated to the Segunda Division in July 2020 after losing 1-0 to Barcelona in La Liga, while Barcelona won the 2022-23 La Liga title with a 4-2 success in Espanyol’s stadium.
Last 20 meetings
Nov 03, 2024: Barcelona 3-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
May 14, 2023: Espanyol 2-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
Dec 31, 2022: Barcelona 1-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Feb 13, 2022: Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Nov 20, 2021: Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jul 08, 2020: Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 04, 2020: Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Mar 30, 2019: Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Dec 08, 2018: Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
Feb 04, 2018: Espanyol 1-1 Barcelona (La Liga)
Jan 25, 2018: Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals)
Jan 17, 2018: Espanyol 1-0 Barcelona (Copa del Rey Quarter-Finals)
Sep 09, 2017: Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Apr 29, 2017: Espanyol 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga)
Dec 18, 2016: Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
May 08, 2016: Barcelona 5-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 13, 2016: Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona (Copa del Rey Round Five)
Jan 06, 2016: Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol (Copa del Rey Round Five)
Jan 02, 2016: Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona (La Liga)
Apr 25, 2015: Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Last 10 La Liga meetings
Nov 03, 2024: Barcelona 3-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
May 14, 2023: Espanyol 2-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
Dec 31, 2022: Barcelona 1-1 Espanyol (La Liga)
Feb 13, 2022: Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Nov 20, 2021: Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jul 08, 2020: Barcelona 1-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Jan 04, 2020: Espanyol 2-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
Mar 30, 2019: Barcelona 2-0 Espanyol (La Liga)
Dec 08, 2018: Espanyol 0-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
Feb 04, 2018: Espanyol 1-1 Barcelona (La Liga)
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