Barcelona could lift their 17th league title on Sunday if they beat Espanyol, but thousands of fans inside the RCDE Stadium will not be able to celebrate wearing the famous colours of Blaugrana.
According to reports in Spain, supporters will be denied entry if they decide to wear any items that represent Barcelona's famous colours, including emblems, scarves and shirts.
In fact, Radio Catalunya claim Espanyol are already informing those who try and buy tickets on the web that they will not be allowed access to the 40,000 capacity stadium if they sport the red and blue.
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But why? Well, it is a direct response to the same measures that the La Liga leaders made ahead of the fixture on December 31.
Barcelona banned Espanyol fans from entering the Camp Nou, and any fans spotted wearing the blue and white shirt – or an emblem or flag associated with Los Periquitos – were barred from attending.
"The sale of tickets for Espanyol fans is prohibited," a statement on their website read. "Likewise, fans who come with Espanyol clothing or emblems will be denied entry to the stadium."
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It is said Barcelona were 'keen to avoid a negative incident' as they continued to make a title challenge, but they also took into account the events from last season's Europa League clash against Eintracht Frankfurt.
During that game, more than 30,000 fans German fans were distributed across various stands of the Camp Nou.
In terms of what happened between both sides last year, a total of 15 yellow cards were handed out by referee Mateu Lahoz in what was a fiery derby clash.
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Barca, who beat Osasuna on Tuesday to extend their lead at the La Liga summit following a Real Madrid defeat, would be mathematically confirmed as champions if they beat Espanyol.
On the brink of title success, former Blaugrana forward Rivaldo thinks Xavi can 'get close to what Pep Guardiola achieved' at the Catalan club.
Speaking to Betfair, he said: “Barcelona manager Xavi should be lauded for the job he has done in this troubled phase of the club, and it just shows his quality, as it is not easy to work with all this noise around the club.
“Many say that he can follow in Pep Guardiola’s footsteps. We can see in Xavi’s methods of coaching and how his teams perform are like his former manager, so we can almost say that Xavi is a student of Guardiola.
“However, we must note that Xavi does not have the same team that Guardiola had when he led Barcelona and yet Xavi has still managed to win an important title, even if he is not yet able to fight for the Champions League too."
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Rivaldo added: “Xavi has had a fantastic start to his Barcelona managerial career, and I believe he can get close to what Guardiola achieved when he eventually has the opportunity to coach the club in better conditions.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Barcelona, La Liga, Espanyol
