Barcelona vs Villarreal: Squads, Stats and Preview

Match preview

Barcelona host Villarreal on Saturday in a key match in the La Liga title race that carries more danger than most realise.

The Blaugrana own a a slim lead of one point over Real Madrid after coming back from defeat in Girona with a 3-0 win over Levantebut faces a Villarreal side who are third in the table and boast an excellent recent record away to Barca.

Indeed, Villarreal have won each of the last two seasons at Barcelona, ​​although both games were played at the Stadio Olimpico rather than the revamped Camp Nou.

The game marks Hansi Flick’s 100th game in charge of Barca, his tenure having already seen them win a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double and two Supercopa de Espana titles.

Flick will naturally be desperate to ensure they mark that milestone with a win, with Barca not much room for error ahead of Madrid’s clash with Getafe on Monday.

Barca won the second leg 2-0 thanks to a penalty from Rafinha and a goal from Lamine Yamal in a game that saw Villarreal reduced to 10 men.

But Flick knows that counts for nothing as Barca aim to stop the Yellow Submarine from causing another shock.

« If we think back to the last game in Villarreal, we were a bit lucky, » Flick said in his pre-match press conference.

They had very good transitions, we must not make unnecessary mistakes and we must play in our style.

Villarreal’s misfortune in their earlier defeat is still fresh in coach Marcelino’s mind, although he admits the odds are against them getting revenge.

« We will try not to give questionable penalties, » said Marcelino.

« We played with 10 men and conceded a questionable penalty. There were fouls like that and no one was sent off.

« They’ve won 12 out of 12 games at home. They’re averaging three goals apiece. We’re going there hoping to win and reverse their favorable results.

« This is one game. 90 minutes and anything can happen. If we play at our best we will have a chance to win.

« You also need luck to beat the big teams, and this season we didn’t have it. There were situations we didn’t go our way.

« They beat us 0-2 but we played at a high level. We want to make the same arguments but with more luck. »

Barcelona vs Villarreal team news

Frenkie de Jong faces several weeks out for Barcelona with a hamstring injury.

Gavi and Andreas Christensen are still out as they recover from long-term knee problems. Gerard Martin is suspended.

For Villarreal, Willy Kambwala (knee), Logan Costa (knee), Pau Cabañez (knee) and Juan Foyt (knee) are unavailable.

Gerard Moreno (thigh) and Pape Gueye (thigh) will have to pass late fitness tests if they are to feature.

Predicted lineups for Barcelona vs Villarreal

Barcelona: J Garcia; Kunde, Kubarsi and Garcia, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Rafinha; Lewandowski

Villarreal: Louis Jr.; Mourinho, Navarro, Veiga, Pedraza; Pepe, Komesana, Gueye, Miller; Mikoutadze, Peres

How to watch Barcelona vs Villarreal: TV & Online Stream

Barcelona v Villarreal kicks off at 3.15pm UK time on Saturday. It will not be broadcast on British television.

The game is available to stream via Premier Sports Player and LaLiga TV (subscriptions required for both).

Bet365 customers with funds in their account can stream the game via the bet365 app and website.

Statistics for Barcelona vs Villarreal

• Barcelona’s last two home games against Villarreal have yielded a total of 13 goals, with the visitors winning both.
• Three of the last four games in this fixture have been won by Villarreal, although only two have been played at Camp Nou.
• Only Kylian Mbappe (27) has registered more La Liga goals than Lamin Yamal (19) this season.
• Villarreal duo Alberto Moleiro (13) and Georges Mikoutadze (12) have combined for 25 goals in LaLiga.
• Barca striker Robert Lewandowski has five goals against Villarreal since joining the Blaugrana in 2022.

Forecast

Barcelona

2
–
1

Villarreal

Having returned to winning ways, this will be another tough test for Barca. However, at home and with their firepower advantage, they should come through.

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