Villarreal vs Barcelona Predictions & Match Preview

Villarreal vs Barcelona predictions and match preview for Saturday’s LaLiga fixture. Read on for expert analysis, the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Xavi’s men head to the Ceramica.

Villarreal vs Barcelona Preview

Villarreal and Barcelona face off in what is the toughest game of Xavi’s short reign so far. The Yellow Submarine are in need of a morale boosting victory to lift spirits following a slow start to the season and three points against the Catalans would certainly deliver that.

Both sides were in key Champions League games in midweek and neither got the result they were looking for. Villarreal lost 2-0 at home to Manchester United but they do hang on to 2nd place in Group F after Atalanta dropped points. A draw in the final game in Italy will be enough for Unai Emery’s side but they have some important league matters to attend to first.

It’s just one victory in six in LaLiga for Villarreal. Even that was an unconvincing 1-0 success against struggling Getafe. They had much the better of the game in Vigo last weekend but had to settle for a point with Brais Mendez netting a 2nd Half leveller in a game defined by goalkeeping errors. They are already ten points off the top four and may face a battle just to make the lesser European places if their current form doesn’t improve but there have been positives in some of their recent displays.

Barcelona’s European setback came in the form of a 0-0 draw against Benfica in midweek. They avoided the nightmare of a home defeat in Xavi’s first European game with the visitors missing a glorious late chance but the Catalans will need to win in Munich in order to secure progress if Benfica win their final game. Failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League would have serious financial implications for an already cash-trapped club.

Missing out on next season’s competition altogether would be even worse and that’s the immediate mission Xavi has on his hands. There were positives in his first home game, a 1-0 derby win over Espanyol, but also major cracks with Barcelona again falling apart to some extent in the latter stages. If anyone thought his appointment would be a quick fix, there is already plenty of evidence to contradict that but Xavi hasn’t been helped by considerable injury problems to key men such as Pedri and Ansu Fati. It’s certainly way too early to make any firm conclusions about the new boss or how things are going to pan out under his leadership but a lack of goals is currently a major concern.

Head to Head

• Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 5 Barcelona Wins, 1 Draw.
• Barcelona recorded 4-0 and 2-1 wins over Villarreal last season.
• They are unbeaten in 26 games against Villarreal overall.
• They have won on 3 of their last 4 visits to the Ceramica, scoring 2+ goals on every visit.

Team News

Gerard Moreno is out but otherwise Villarreal should be at full strength.

Ansu Fati, Pedri and Martin Braithwaite are out for the visitors.

Possible Lineups

Villarreal vs Barcelona Predictions

Score Prediction: Villarreal 1-1 Barcelona

Villarreal are missing key forward Gerard Moreno and their front-line hasn’t fully convinced in his absence. Arnaut Danjuma has certainly impressed but the balance isn’t quite right for the Yellow Submarine going forwards and they haven’t been that convincing defensively either so they may struggle to fully take advantage of Barcelona’s flaws but the hosts should still take a point with the visitors finding their feet under new management.

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