Summary
Barca XI: Bravo, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez, Neymar.
Espanyol XI: Pau, Javi Lopez, Alvaro, Roco, Alvarez, Diop, Jordan, Hernan, Burgui, Asensio, Caicedo.
Barca top table on GD from Atletico
Visitors won five trophies in 2015
Postpublished at 15:24 Greenwich Mean Time 2 January 2016
Postpublished at 19 mins
Fourteen-goal Neymar sets up 15-goal Luis Suarez, but he can't test Espanyol keeper Pau Lopez.
Postpublished at 15 mins
Neymar is caught offside - are Barcelona's players still feeling the effects of a big New Year's Eve? It's far from a classic start to this game.
Postpublished at 10 mins
Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba squanders a chance in what has been a slow opening from Luis Enrique's side.
Postpublished at 8 mins
Barcelona have a corner but Andres Iniesta dawdles with the ball when he receives it and Espanyol break - but luckily for the visitors they win the ball back.
Postpublished at 5 mins
Nothing really to report so far from Barcelona - it's been a quiet start.
KICK-OFFpublished at 15:00
We are under way at the Power8 Stadium.
Can Suarez or Neymar end golden boot duopoly?published at 14:57
Image source, .See the whole list of top scorers here (you'll be scrolling down for a while to find Lionel Messi on six).
'Espanyol have a chance'published at 14:52
Quote MessageThis is an important game and I’m really looking forward to having a go. We know we’re playing the best team in the world, they’ve proved that. But we’re going to try to get through on their goal and create chances. If we can do that, then we’ll have a chance of winning.
Constantin Galca, Espanyol boss
Postpublished at 14:50
'Special' way to start 2016published at 14:48
Quote MessageIt is great to finish the year this way and now we start again with a special match. It is really tough to win these trophies and to win five or six is something that rarely happens. I will remember them and being able to lift the Club World Cup trophy as captain was the icing on the cake for me.
Andres Iniesta, Barcelona
Barca want repeat of 2015published at 14:45
Quote MessageWe need to try to maintain the same level as last year. The objective is to win again, to win the first game in 2016 and again be challenging to win titles throughout the season for this team, the fans and the club.
Luis Enrique, Barcelona boss
Postpublished at 14:41
Last month, Espanyol appointed Constantin Galca - who played for the club at the turn of the millennium - as their new head coach.
The 43-year-old former Romania midfielder had been managing Steaua Bucharest.
Barca boss Luis Enrique did his best to sound like a football hipster, saying: “Galca did a great job at Steaua.
"I know his taste for good football, you can see his influence already and Espanyol will undoubtedly make it tough for us.”
Image source, EPALINE-UPSpublished at 14:37
Barcelona are at full strength with their star trio all starting up front. Espanyol midfielder Pape Diop (not the ex-Fulham guy) returns from suspension.
Barcelona: Bravo, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta, Messi, Suarez, Neymar. Subs: Ter Stegen, Bartra, Munir, Sandro, Roberto, Adriano, Mathieu.
Espanyol: Pau, Javi Lopez, Alvaro, Roco, Alvarez, Diop, Jordan, Hernan, Burgui, Asensio, Caicedo. Subs: Bardi, Rober, Duarte, Raillo, Salva Sevilla, Abraham, Gerard Moreno.
So near and yet so farpublished at 14:34
Barcelona duo Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan can both consider themselves quite unlucky not to make their debuts today.
The wide midfield pair both joined the club in the summer but were not eligible until the new year because of a transfer fan imposed on Barcelona.
It's 2016 now but because yesterday was New Year's Day (a public holiday), Barcelona were unable to register them for today's game.
They could make their debuts on Wednesday in the cup against today's opposition Espanyol.
Image source, EPAImage caption, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal recently posed with Bill Gates for a charity event in Tokyo - probably while their team-mates were playing in the Club World Cup
A year to rememberpublished at 14:30
Image source, EPASo how was your 2015? Probably not as good as Barcelona's, I'd guess.
The Catalan giants won five of the six trophies they could in the calendar year (only missing out on the Spanish Super Cup).
They finished the year with a 4-0 walloping of Real Betis - to take them up to 180 goals for the year, a Spanish record.