Our Spanish football expert Tim Clement expects Espanyol to frustrate the leaders in the Barcelona derby after another goal fest in Madrid.
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Espanyol v Barcelona
Kick-off time: Saturday 1945 BST, Sky Sports 2HD
Espanyol will have aspirations of halting their neighbours but have not enjoyed victory over them since the turn of the decade.
The mid-table outfit have little else to play for and have collected a solitary point from the last two outings, while they offered resistance in a 4-1 loss at the Nou Camp back in December.
Luis Suarez bagged a brace in that win and looks set to be restored to Barca's attack after being rested for Wednesday's 7-1 thumping of bottom club Osasuna.
Neymar also returns following his suspension as Enrique enjoys no new injury concerns, with full-backs Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba set to restored to his line-up after only two defenders were used in the midweek mauling.
Defensive stability remains the key challenge for Barca, with their backline conceding seven times in their last four league games, although Espanyol's record of just three goals from their last five games will ease concerns.
Indeed, they’ve also failed to score in any of Barca’s last five visits, a goalless draw in last season’s clash highlight for the home fans since they moved to the at the RCDE Stadium.
That leaves us making sense of two contrasting angles to extract more value from 1/5 shots Barca.
Espanyol’s form, both recent and in the head-to-head, points to a Barca win to nil but their visitors’ have conceded in eight of their last 10 wins.
Searching for an alternative sub markets and the one that stands out to me is the half-time/full-time option, ditching the stats for logic.
Espanyol are well drilled under former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores and will undoubtedly set out to frustrate Barca, with a draw almost as good as a victory for them in terms of denting their rivals’ title hopes.
Naturally, Barca should have the quality to break that defence down and, with it more a case of when rather than if, I’m going for the hosts to hold out until half-time before succumbing to defeat, with Bet Victor’s 19/5 on ‘Draw/Barcelona’.
Real Madrid v Valencia
Kick-off time: Saturday 1515 BST
There is no such doubts as to whether there will be goals at the Bernabeu on Saturday, with one of the league's most fragile backlines visiting.
Los Che have conceded 13 goals in their last five trips, including a 4-2 loss at the Nou Camp last month, and slipped to a 3-2 home defeat to Real Sociedad on Wednesday night.
Their best defensive display of the season was undoubtedly in the reverse fixture, when they defended an early two-goal lead to prevail 2-1.
A repeat would be a real upset here, with odds of 15/1 with Bet Stars stacked against Voro's men, as Cristiano Ronaldo returns from being rested for a third successive away league game.
They've won all of those trips, with Alvaro Morata once again pushing his case to lead the line, opening the scoring in the opening minute at Deportivo.
The Spaniard has averaged over a goal per 90 minutes this season, over twice as frequent as Karim Benzema, while James Rodriguez, Lucas Vasquez and Isco all also took their chances by finding the net in the 6-2 triumph.
With such an array of attacking talent in form, the absence of Gareth Bale is hardly being felt, with 15 goals scored in their last four games, while they've scored at least two goals in 12 or their last 13 home games.
However, they've also conceded two or more in each of their last four games, while Tuesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid means Zidane will have to consider further rotation.
With odds of 1/5 on the hosts obviously lacking appeal, the obvious bet for the match is Real Madrid to win and both teams to score (17/20 with Bet Stars), which has paid out in 11 of their last 15 games in all competitions and nine of their last 10 victories.
Preview posted at 1800 BST on 28/04/17
