Messi's desire:scores at Cornella

ESPANYOL'S new stadium is one of the few venues that the Argentinean superstar has yet  to christen with one of his goals .Xavi,on the other hand, has already scored on the Pericos four times.In Catalonia and Spain the Three Kings Day is a day of dreams and hopes, when aspirations are met and desires fulfilled. For Leo Messi, surely he’s hoping, amongst other things, to score at Cornella-El Prat, where he has yet to score a goal in his two visits to the Perico stadium. In total, the Argentinean has scored against Espanyol three times, but never whilst away from the Camp Nou. This Sunday could be his day. 

San Mamés, a good precedent 

Simply put, Messi is running out of challenges in the Liga. Up until a couple of months ago San Mamés was impenetrable for the Argentinean star, but in the last minute of the game against Los Leones a couple of months ago he broke his hex and scored, salvaging a valuable point for FC Barcelona. It’s a good precedent going into the Catalan derby against Espanyol. 

Xavi’s second favorite victim

It’s a completely different story for Barça’s vice-captain, Xavi Hernández. The midfielder, a veteran and expert against Espanyol, has a knack for giving Barça’s city rivals a head ache. Espanyol has suffered four Xavi goals, the Terrasa man was one of the main protagonists in the 1-5 rout last season. Xavi has also scored against Espanyol twice at the Camp Nou, in the 2000/01 (4-2) season and in the 2001/02 (2-0) season, and once atMontjuïc, in the 2002/03 (0-2) season.