Villarreal vs Barcelona match preview and predictions for Sunday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Ronald Koeman’s side travel to the Ceramica.
| Date | Sunday 25th April 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 16:15 (local time) |
| Stadium | Ceramica |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Villarreal vs Barcelona Preview
Villarreal and Barcelona clash in another very significant game in this year’s LaLiga title race. While they are only 3rd heading into this weekend, many see Barca as the favourites to win the league but this is clearly one of their toughest remaining tests.
Much may depend on what kind of team Unai Emery decides to put out though. Villarreal are in Europa League Semi-Final action this coming week and with their place in Europe next term pretty much guaranteed, they may opt to make wholesale changes here and rest key men such as talisman Gerard Moreno. That would be a real shame from a neutral perspective and it wouldn’t go down well in Madrid but in the circumstances, you could hardly blame Emery if that’s his approach.
Villarreal have to their credit largely managed to maintain strong form in LaLiga despite their European progress. They’ve won 4 of their last 6 in the Spanish top flight including a very impressive 5-1 win at Levante last weekend. However they come into this on the back of a midweek defeat to lowly Alaves.
Barcelona meanwhile travel to the Ceramica having ultimately cruised to a 5-2 win over Getafe in midweek. They had to wait until the final few minutes to kill it off but the result was never seriously in doubt with Leo Messi again starring with two goals.
It’s now crunch time for Barcelona’s title aspirations, who are looking to complete a domestic double having won the Copa del Rey last weekend. They also travel to Valencia next weekend with the showdown with Atleti to come in a fortnight and it will be the ultimate test of whether Ronald Koeman’s side have kicked on to a level where they can consistently perform in the big, pressure games, which certainly wasn’t the case for much of this season.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 5 Barcelona Wins, 1 Draw.
- Barcelona have gone 25 matches without losing against Villarreal.
- The last 6 meetings at the Ceramica have produced 3 Barcelona wins and 3 draws.
- Villarreal have been reduced to 10 men in 4 of their last 6 home games against Barcelona.
Team News
Pervis Estupinan is a doubt for Villarreal who may opt to limit the game-time of some of their key men in this match.
Ousmane Dembele is still a doubt for the visitors so it’s likely to be Leo Messi and Antoine Griezmann up front again.
Predicted Villarreal Starting Lineup:
Asenjo – Pedraza, Torres, Albiol, Mario – Trigueros, Capoue, Parejo – Chukwueze, Moreno, Pena (4-3-3)
Predicted Barcelona Starting Lineup:
Ter Stegen – Lenglet, Pique, Mingueza – Alba, Pedri, Busquets, De Jong, Dest – Messi, Griezmann (3-5-2)
Villarreal vs Barcelona Predictions
Score Prediction:Villarreal 1-3 Barcelona
Villarreal are a strong side but they aren’t on the level of the top four and even if they do name close to their strongest XI here, Emery will surely have one eye on the clash with Arsenal this coming week. In the final third, Barcelona are by far the most dangerous team in LaLiga right now and they have enough to punish a Villarreal defence which still doesn’t fully convince.
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