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Philippe Coutinho: 'It's going to be a special, but tough, match'

Coutinho, who once played for Espanyol, will be going back to their ground for the first time since joining Barça

Philippe Coutinho, who made his Barça debut just over a week ago in the Copa del Rey, will be facing Espanyol in La Liga for the first time since signing with Barça. The 25-year-old Brazilian spoke to La Liga on Saturday about his memories there and his expectations for his first La Liga derby.

On his time at Espanyol:

“I have good memories from my time at Espanyol. It was a very important time for me.”

“I lived in Barcelona for six months and it was a very good time for me.”

On Espanyol’s current team:

“Espanyol is a very good team, they're very skilled, but we have to go out and do what we always do. We have to go in being 100% alert, and try to play our football.”

On Sunday’s game:

“It's a derby and it's always special for the city and for everyone.”

“I'm just like everybody else, I want to win.”

“It's a wonderful game to play and everybody prepares very well for it.”

“It's going to be a difficult and special match.”

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