Before the Catalan Derby: Valverde and Abelardo's crossed paths

The Catalan derby between Barcelona and Espanyol is a special game for both fans and players, but on Saturday night it will be just as important for those in the dugout.

Abelardo Fernandez will make his debut as Espanyol head coach and he will do so up against the club he once played for across eight seasons and 257 games, winning eight trophies.

It will also mark a return to the RCDE Stadium for Ernesto Valverde, who played for the Espanyol side who reached the UEFA Cup final in 1988 and then would go on to coach the team to reach the UEFA Cup final against Sevilla in 2007.

Gate 89 of the stadium even carries the name of the Barcelona coach and he is a much-loved figure at Espanyol even now, often being applauded by fans on his returns.

On Thursday, both clubs exchanged tweets on social media about the pasts of their coaches and on Friday in the traditional meeting between coaches, Valverde mistakenly put himself on the side of the home team before being asked to swap.

There was a great atmosphere between both Abelardo and Valverde, who have crossed paths between the two clubs.

Now, all of the focus will be on the field of play.