Barcelona, Espanyol coaches meet to ease derby tension

Barcelona - Barcelona coach Luis Enrique will meet his Espanyol counterpart Constantin Galca ahead of the return-leg of their Copa del Rey last-16 tie in a bid to ease the bad blood between the two sides.

The clash at Cornella-El Prat on Wednesday will be the third Barcelona derby in 10 days with the previous two dominated by ugly scenes on and off the field.

Enrique hasn't travelled to Zurich for Monday's Ballon d'Or gala despite being nominated for coach of the year, and Espanyol confirmed he will meet with Galca on Tuesday afternoon.

The Barca boss likened Espanyol's tactics to American football as the visitor had two men sent-off in Barca's 4-1 first-leg win last week.

However, the European champion will be without the suspended Luis Suarez as he was given a two-match ban for confronting Espanyol players in the tunnel after the game and calling them a "waste of space."

Related: Luis Suarez banned 2 games for post-match altercation; Barcelona will appeal

Espanyol has also been reported to Spain's anti-violence commission by the Spanish league for alleged racist abuse aimed at Brazilian star Neymar during the sides' 0-0 draw in La Liga on January 2.