Valverde was Espanyol boss last time they beat Barca at home in Liga

Barcelona's derby against Espanyol this Saturday will not be at all easy. Rubi's team, despite recent results, have started the season well and it's not been long since Barça were last beaten at Cornella El Prat: Jan. 17, 2018.

That defeat came in the last eight of the Copa del Rey (1-0) and even though Barça came back to win the tie in the second leg at Camp Nou, Espanyol fans still got to savour Melendo's 88th minute winner.

However, to find Espanyol's last home win in LaLiga, you have to go back to Jan. 13, 2007, week 18 of the league season. Going back 11 years, Ernesto Valverde was in charge of the Pericos side which beat Frank Rijkaard's Barça 3-1.

Luis García (30'), Tamudo (64') and Rufete (87') got the goals for Espanyol, with Javier Saviola scoring for Barça in the game played at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic.

It was a game which saw Rijkaard, usually so calm, lost his cool, breaking one of the plastic seats on the bench as his side were beaten by their city rivals.

A lot has changed in the last decade. Valverde is now the Barça coach hoping to avoid becoming the first Barça coach to lose at the local enemy since he inflicted defeat on them back in 2007.