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Derby day arrives in Catalonia, as La Liga table-toppers Barcelona welcome struggling local rivals Espanyol to their ground.
While Hansi Flick's men look to recover from their Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Atlético Madrid, Espanyol are chasing a rare win at Camp Nou to snap their 12-match winless streak.
Barça's burning desire to reclaim European glory means the second leg against Atléti will take precedence over the derby, with Flick needing to carefully manage and rotate his squad on Saturday.
Espanyol may be badly out of form, but a win on hostile turf to derail Barça's title push could go some way to compensating for their dreadful recent run.
Barça Set to Welcome Frenkie de Jong Back
There is optimism that Barcelona will be able to field a midfield duo of Pedri and Frenkie de Jong for Wednesday's second leg at the Metropolitano.
De Jong has been sidelined since late February with a hamstring problem, but returned to training ahead of Saturday's derby. Though a place in the starting eleven seems unlikely this weekend, Flick could give the Dutchman some minutes from the bench.
Raphinha remains a notable absentee for the hosts. The Brazilian is expected to miss much, if not all, of April after suffering another hamstring injury while on international duty. Andreas Christensen and young left back Jofre Torrents are also unavailable for the Blaugrana on derby day.
Alejandro Balde and Ronald Araújo have both recently returned from injury, while promising midfielder Marc Bernal is a doubt after picking up a knock during last week's thrilling win at Atléti.
Barcelona Predicted Lineup vs. Espanyol (4-2-3-1)
GK: Joan García—Barcelona's first choice keeper goes up against his former side this weekend, having kept a clean sheet on his return to the RCDE Stadium back in January.
RB: Ronald Araújo—Barcelona's skipper bounced back from a knock to come off the bench during the week, and could force his way back into the starting eleven this weekend. Primarily a center back, Araújo is comfortable at full back and was deployed on the right side of Barça's defense last Sunday.
CB: Pau Cubarsí—Flick may as well keep faith with the young defender, given that he is suspended for the return leg in Madrid.
CB: Gerard Martín—Martín has been putting in a quietly solid season, and will continue to partner Cubarsí at the center of Barcelona's defense for the derby.
LB: Alejandro Balde—João Cancelo has been outstanding since rejoining the club in January, leaving limited opportunities for the injury-prone Balde. However, the energetic left back is fit for this weekend and is in line for his first La Liga start since Feb. 28.
DM: Eric García—Barça are keen to have their strongest midfield available in Madrid on Tuesday, so the versatile and reliable García may get another run in the engine room.
DM: Gavi—Flick has understandably eased Gavi back into action following the midfielder's recovery from yet another lengthy injury. Nevertheless, the Barça manager has hinted that the academy product is ready to play a full 90 minutes.
RW: Roony Bardghji—Lamine Yamal will need to be at his best to carry Barça through on Tuesday night, so resting him here is a logical call. Roony has shown himself to be a capable stand-in since arriving at the club last summer.
AM: Fermín López—Dani Olmo was selected in midweek, so Flick will likely turn to the sharp and opportunistic Fermín for derby day.
LW: Marcus Rashford—Rashford put in a decent shift without replicating Raphinha's clinical edge and pressing intensity on Wednesday, and the Englishman will likely hold onto his place ahead of the second leg.
ST: Ferran Torres—Barça face a glaring center forward problem at the worst possible moment. Robert Lewandowski has only been playing due to Torres being badly out of form. The Spaniard has not scored since Jan. 31.