Barcelona vs Espanyol: Key Players Return for Derby

KOMPAS.com – Barcelona has good news ahead of facing Espanyol in the 2025-2026 Spanish League (LaLiga), Sunday (4/1/2026).

Week 18 of the 2025-2026 Spanish League match between Espanyol vs Barcelona will be held at the RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat.

The Espanyol vs Barcelona duel, entitled the Catalan Derbi, is predicted to be fierce.

This is because both teams have good records in the last three matches.

It was noted that Espanyol and Barcelona both swept the whole game clean with wins.

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Barcelona’s Three Pillars Return to Training

After undergoing a short half-season holiday, Barcelona held another training session in preparation for the second half of the competition.

Positive news also came from the training field with the return of three important players to the squad.

Based on observations from the latest training session, Pedri, Dani Olmo and Ronaldo Araujo have returned to training with the first team.

The presence of the three is a significant boost for the Blaugrana, who previously had to lose Olmo and Araujo in recent weeks due to different problems.

Olmo suffered an injury at the start of the month, while Araujo has been absent since the match against Chelsea.

The defender from Uruguay even took an additional break due to his mental health condition.

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Even though there were reports of a potential delay in Araujo’s comeback, now the defender has returned to training on time.

Player Conditions Ahead of the Catalan Derby

Apart from Dani Olmo and Ronaldo Araujo, Pedri also returned to join after previously being sidelined due to a calf injury.

However, the return of the three players to the training field does not fully guarantee that they will immediately appear when facing Espanyol in the Catalan Derbi.

Olmo and Araujo are still doubtful about appearing from the first minute, although the opportunity for Araujo to at least be on the reserve list remains open.