Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal was not present in their training session two days before they face Espanyol in the Catalan derby. The 18-year-old superstar is set to be a key part of Barcelona’s efforts to break down Los Pericos in a tense atmosphere.

An always heated occasion when Barcelona travel to the RCDE Stadium, there is added spice due to events over the last three years. Twice the Blaugrana have confirmed title wins in La Liga at the RCDE Stadium, with the first of those occasions resulting in a pitch invasion from the home fans. In the summer, Espanyol’s star man, Joan Garcia, made a switch across town for €25m, and is set to be the focus of Espanyol fans’ ire – Los Pericos have been implementing additional safety measures in order to hopefully prevent any issues.

#fcbarcelona are in for a major test to start the new year.

Here's the remarkable rise of #Espanyol, quite possibly the best story in #LaLiga this year.

— Football España (@footballespana_) January 1, 2026

Lamine Yamal misses training two days before Espanyol tie

Not far behind him in terms of the list of public enemies at Espanyol is Lamine Yamal. However the Spain international did not train on Thursday due to a cold. Both MD and Sport assure that he is all but certain to be fit to face Espanyol on Saturday night, but it is certainly far from ideal preparation. Manager Hansi Flick tends not to select players that are not available the day before, meaning Lamine Yamal must prove his fitness on Friday.

Barcelona’s other injury issues

Long-term absentees Gavi and Andreas Christensen are both out of action for some time to come, while Pedri is expected to be fit to face Espanyol after missing their final game of 2025. There is less certainty about the status of Dani Olmo and Ronald Araujo.

🚨 BREAKING: Hamza Abdelkarim is one step away from joining FC Barcelona. Al Ahly SC is reportedly close to accepting the Catalan club’s improved offer: a six-month loan until June, with a €1.5M purchase option in the summer, €3.5M in variables, and 15% of a future sale.…

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 1, 2026

The former is still yet to get the green light to return to action after dislocating his shoulder – this week he has been doing some of his training with the group. Araujo returned to training after a leave of absence for the last four weeks, but there have been conflicting reports on whether he will be eased back in after the Spanish Supercup, or back in the squad on Saturday.