Barcelona vs Espanyol teams
The starting line-ups for the LaLiga match between Barça and city rivals Espanyol, to be played at the Camp Nou on Saturday 30 March 2019.
Leo Messi starts against Barça's city rivals Espanyol, as Valverde puts out his strongest team for the Barcelona derby.
Barcelona XI
Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur; Messi, Suárez and Coutinho.
On the bench: Iñaki Peña, Malcom, Prince Boateng, Sergi Roberto, Aleñá, Vidal and Umtiti.
Espanyol XI
Diego López; Rosales, Lluís López, Naldo, Hermoso, Pedrosa; Melendo, Víctor Sánchez, Marc Roca, Granero; and Borja Iglesias.
On the bench: Roberto, Alfa, Sergio García, Dídac, Javi López, Hernán Pérez and Wu Lei.
Piqué stirs up tension ahead of the Barcelona derby
Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué was on late-night TV in Spain on Thursday evening and his comments (likely mostly tongue in cheek) angered Espanyol fans, particularly when he said that he had more money than the Espanyol budget for this year.
Espanyol fans hit back, with former player Luis García saying on Twitter that the fact Piqué was attacking them was merely a sign they were doing things right.
Expect the visiting Espanyol fans to give Piqué grief every time he's anywhere near the ball.