Espanyol will host Barcelona this Thursday, with a tense atmosphere in the dressing room. Beyond the rivalry, Espanyol is fighting to secure their survival in La Liga.

Javier Puado shared his thoughts before the match: “We are very alert. We know how important this game is for our fans and for us. We will give everything. We are playing at home, we are Espanyol, and we expect to defeat Barcelona.”

The Espanyol captain is optimistic about a positive result, as it could secure their survival in La Liga. After three consecutive defeats, returning to winning ways is crucial.

Puado added: “The team is in good shape. Yes, we’ve had three consecutive losses, but we played well against Villarreal and Betis. We must forget the recent match against Leganés and approach this derby with full energy and motivation. We were poor in the first half against Leganés, and the opponent took advantage. We were very bad—that’s the reality. We must criticize ourselves because we were not good enough. We have to fix this.”