Espanyol vs Barcelona LIVE - Scintillating Lionel Messi shines as Barca cruise to victory

(Getty)

Barcelona inflicted further misery on Catalan rivals Espanyol when the sides met for their first derby of the season.

Lionel Messi was once again the star of the show, scoring a brilliant solo goal and a wonderful free-kick as Barca proved far too good.

Re-live all the action below.

What time does it start?

Espanyol vs Barcelona kicks off at 7:45pm (GMT)

Lionel Messi is in form for Barcelona (Reuters)

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on Eleven Sports 1 from 7:40pm and on their La Liga TV channel from kick-off. Fans can also watch the match on Eleven Sports through iOS mobile and tablet apps as well as on Android mobiles.

Highlights will be shown at 10:30pm on Eleven Sports’ La Liga TV channel.

Player to watch

Ousmane Dembele: It was yet another impressive outing for the Frenchman against Villarreal. He was far and away the most potent threat for his side, particularly in the first half when he assisted Gerard Pique for the opening goal. Espanyol will no doubt look to put more behind the ball in this derby, but Dembele’s pace could unpick such a tactic.

Form guide

Espanyol: LWLLLW

Barcelona: DLDWWW

Odds

Espanyol to win: 19/4

Barcelona to win: 13/25

Draw: 10/3

Prediction

Espanyol 1-4 Barcelona

Key Points

• Espanyol XI: Diego Lopez, Javi Lopez, David Lopez, Duarte, Didac Vila, Hernan Perez, Melendo, Victor Sanchez, Roca, Darder, Borja Iglesias
• Barcelona XI: ter-Stegen, Alba, Lenglet, Pique, Semedo, Vidal, Busquets, Rakitic, Dembele, Suarez, Messi

[8 December 2018 21:39 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Full time: That's it. Barcelona move three points clear at the top with a convincing win over their city rivals. The brilliance of Messi proved too much for Espanyol, who can consider themselves hard done by to have been beaten so heavily. 

[8 December 2018 21:42 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Barcelona now have some breathing space at the top. A second successive clean sheet will please Valverde, and it's the perfect preparation for their Champions League meeting with Tottenham in midweek.

For Espanyol, it's four league defeats in a row. They did not play badly tonight, though, and still sit in ninth place in La Liga.

[8 December 2018 21:45 · Callum Rice-Coates]

Messi, even by his own high standards, was lethal from dead ball situations tonight:

[8 December 2018 21:48 · Callum Rice-Coates]

And with his brace tonight, Messi's back to where he belongs: at the top of La Liga's scoring charts.

[8 December 2018 21:51 · Callum Rice-Coates]

That's it for our coverage of tonight's Catalan derby. We'll leave you with the standings in La Liga after Barcelona's victory.

Thanks for joining us!