Andres Iniesta will miss Barcelona's derby at Espanyol on Sunday (AEST) because of an abductor injury, the club has confirmed.

Iniesta was a doubt for the LaLiga match after missing training on Saturday (AEST) and he has not been able to prove his fitness in time to make Luis Enrique's squad.

Rafinha, Aleix Vidal and Jeremy Mathieu are the other injury absentees for Barca, which has included 19-year-old Carles Alena in its Matchday 18 and welcomes back Neymar after the Brazilian served a three-match ban.

Iniesta has started just 10 LaLiga games in a stop-start season for the 32-year-old, with Denis Suarez and Andre Gomes the contenders to take his place in the Barcelona midfield.

Barcelona is top of the table via its superior head-to-head record against Real Madrid, which has the chance to go top when it hosts Valencia.