(Football news) While the Barcelona Derby is constantly really well worth tuning in to, this Sunday’s conflict between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona is especially thrilling for numerous reasons.

This can be the weekend when Xavi Hernández’s team  are mathematically crowned 2022/23 LaLiga Santander champions, even as it’s also one of the ultimate probabilities for Luis García’s outfit to accumulate the factors they want to break out the relegation region earlier than the season’s end. With stars like Marc-André ter Stegen, Joselu, Robert Lewandowski and Sergi Darder all involved, spectacle and exhilaration are guaranteed.

FC Barcelona can be crowned champion 

After 33 rounds of consistent scoring, FC Barcelona will enter matchday 34 of the LaLiga Santander season so close to achieving the trophy they have been chasing. Los Azulgranas can be mathematically crowned champions at the RCDE Stadium in this competitive fixture that is always red at the start of the season. They have 13 points on Atlético de Madrid and 14 on Real Madrid, so 12 points more than Los Rojiblancos and 13 points more than Los Blancos would be enough for them.

RCD Espanyol is in the heart of the relegation battle 

At the other end of the table, RCD Espanyol begins this 34th day of the LaLiga Santander campaign in penultimate position and three points from safety. With just 12 points remaining after this weekend’s matches, Luis García’s side will need to take advantage of every remaining opportunity to add to their  tally. After the match against FC Barcelona, ​​​​​​Los Blanquiazules  have four more matches against Rayo Vallecano (away), Atlético de Madrid (home), Valencia CF (away) and UD Almería (home).

The race for  Pichichi 

While the  LaLiga Santander Cup destination seems pretty clear after five matches, the top goalscorer award is much narrower. Robert Lewandowski, who led the way with 19 goals, is closely followed by Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema with 17 goals. Meanwhile, Getafe CF’s Enes Ünal and RCD Espanyol’s Joselu, who will face  FC Barcelona’s Polish striker on this matchday, are also chasing 14 goals each. It’s a prestigious award and it looks like there’s still  a fight left until the end of the season.

I am waiting for the first victory in the derby  in Cornellà 

The RCDE stadium has yet to celebrate a home derby win against FC Barcelona in a league match. The last match of Los Blanquiazules took place in the 2006/07 season, when they were still playing at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, which will be the home of FC Barcelona from the following season due to the works done on the stadium. In that match, Ernesto Valverde’s team  defeated Frank Rijkaard 3-1 with goals from Raúl Tamudo, Francisco Rufete and current RCD Espanyol coach Luis García.

Ter Stegen is chasing the record of goals scored 

The German goalkeeper of FC Barcelona had a historic season. After scoring just 11 goals  in 33 games, he is on course to break LaLiga Santander’s all-time goalscoring record. The feat is shared by Jan Oblak of Atlético de Madrid in 2015/16 and Paco Liaño of Deportivo de La Coruña. 1993/94. Both scored 18 goals in 38 games in those years, an average of 0.47 goals per game, which Ter Stegen is threatening to smash. He is currently averaging 0.33 goals  per game and  has five games left if he hopes to beat that number.

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