Barcelona vs Villarreal predictions and match preview for this Sunday’s game in LaLiga. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted line ups as the Catalans look to move on from a very difficult summer with a positive display on the pitch.
- DATE: Sunday 27th September 2020
- KICK-OFF: 21:00 (local time)
- VENUE: Camp Nou
Barcelona vs Villarreal Preview
After a tumultuous summer, Barcelona are back at Camp Nou and back playing football this Sunday. This could be something of a baptism of fire for Ronald Koeman against a strong Villarreal side but it’s important that his team do get off to a winning start and it’ll be an early barometer as to what kind of side Barcelona are going to be under new management.
Leo Messi will start and for now at least fans of Barca and indeed LaLiga can rest easy in the knowledge that we will get to enjoy another season of the Argentine legend in Spain. It looks likely he will occupy the number 10 role this season in behind Antoine Griezmann, although we may see the duo switch at certain moments within games depending on how that pairing clicks in the absence of Luis Suarez who agreed to join Atletico Madrid this week.
Eric Garcia may arrive from Manchester City but we aren’t expecting any major new arrivals at Barcelona which means they are basically left with the same squad that finished 2nd to Real Madrid in LaLiga last season and was so brutally sent packing from Europe by Bayern Munich. That doesn’t bode well but in truth Barcelona do still have an array of attacking options that would be the envy of virtually every other team on the continent. If Koeman can find a system to get the best out of them, it might not be anywhere near as bad as some are predicting.
Villarreal will be difficult opponents here. Unai Emery’s side have two competitive games under their belt and have four points on the board. There have been signs of encouragement for followers of the Yellow Submarine although they haven’t quite hit top gear yet having drawn against Huesca and edged past Eibar in their two matches to date, both of which were at home.
With matches against Atletico Madrid and Valencia also coming up, we should soon get an idea of whether or not Villarreal are in the kind of shape needed to make a genuine top four challenge this season.
Season Previews: Barcelona | Villarreal
Barcelona vs Villarreal H2H
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 5 Barcelona Wins, 1 Draw.
- Barcelona have won their last 10 home games against Villarreal.
- Villarreal conceded twice or more in all of those matches.
- Barca won this fixture 2-1 last season before putting in one of their most impressive showings of the campaign with a 4-1 win at the Ceramica.
Team News
Barcelona are set to go 4-2-3-1 here. Their only major absentee is Marc-Andre ter Stegen with Neto set to fill in between the sticks during the opening weeks of the season.
Villarreal have a doubt over Raúl Albiol, who is suffering from a broken nose. Rubén Peña is also sidelined meaning they could be without two members of their first choice back four.
Predicted Barcelona XI:
Neto – Alba, Lenglet, Pique, Roberto – De Jong, Busquets – Fati, Messi, Dembele – Griezmann (4-2-3-1)
Predicted Villarreal XI:
Asenjo – Estupinan, Torres, Funes Mori, Gaspar – Gomez, Parejo, Coquelin, Chukwueze – Moreno, Alcacer (4-4-2)
Barcelona vs Villarreal Predictions
Score Prediction: 3-1 Barcelona
While Leo Messi has nothing to prove to anybody, it just feels like he could produce something a bit special here with all the focus set to be on him after a rocky few weeks where he has attempted to force a move away from the club. Villarreal are still a work in progress under Unai Emery and their likely back four here doesn’t have a convincing feel to it at all, with one new signing and two relatively unconvincing back-up players set to start. Barcelona should pick up three points to kick off the Koeman era.
Barcelona vs Villarreal Betting Tips (18+)
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