FC Barcelona would be hoping to produce another sensational performance against Espanyol tonight at the Olympic Stadium on Montjuic. FC Barcelona's last visit to Espanyol resulted in a very controversial win for Barca - A Messy Win. That was the night when the infamous Boix Nois once again came into the fore front. The group has yet again has announced that they will get into the stadium. Espanyol authorities need to take more tough measures to make sure that no unwanted incidents take place. Espanyol is in dire straits as far as league is considered. They have sacked their coach Mane after Sunday's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Malaga. Mauricio Pochettino has been named the new coach. That woories me, as always with the arrival of a new coach there will be new belief among the players and that could lead to an excellent display. BUt still it will be too much for Espanyol to overcome this rampant FC Barcelona side. Eventhough we struggled against Espanyol last time; this FC Barcelona side has improved in leaps and bounds after that visit. Raul Tamudo, a terror for Barca will not be available for Espanyol in tonight's match due to injury.
All is not supposed to be well at Barca. Eto and Guardiola reportedly had a verbal confrontation during training. MundoDeportivo reports that Guardiola was not too happy with Eto's efforts on the training ground and asked Eto to hit the showers early; Eto didn't take that lightly and entered into an argument with his boss. It is not clear whether the two has made up since, but one thing is clear that Guardiola would not allow any of his players to be complacent and that is so good. Guardiola has not yet announced his squad, but he has indicated that he would be unleashing a very strong side. Pinto would be at the Goal in place of Valdes. Sylvinho, Puyol, Marquez and Alves would be forming the defense. Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets would be expected to form the midfield. But their may be a chance of Xavi being rested and then Keita would take his place. Hleb, Bojan and Messi is expected to form the front trio. There are reports suggesting that Pochettino would be using a 4-3-3 style, this could be dangerous for Espanyol as FC Barcelona players would have so much space to work with. I predict a Barca victory with a scoreline of 2-5.