Match Preview

Barcelona host Villarreal on Saturday in a key game in the LaLiga title race that carries more danger than most would assume.

The Blaugrana hold a slender one-point lead over Real Madrid, having bounced back from defeat at Girona with a 3-0 win over Levante, but face a Villarreal side sitting third in the table and boasting an excellent recent record in away games with Barca.

Indeed, Villarreal have claimed victory in each of the past two seasons at Barcelona, though both of those games were played at the Olympic Stadium rather than the revamped Camp Nou.

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

Flick will naturally be desperate to ensure he marks that milestone with a victory, with Barca having little room for a slip-up ahead of Madrid’s clash with Getafe on Monday.

Barca won the reverse fixture 2-0 thanks to a Raphinha penalty and a goal from Lamine Yamal in a game in which Villarreal were reduced to 10 men.

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

“If we recall the last match in Villarreal, we had a bit of luck,” Flick told his pre-match press conference.

“They had very good transitions, we mustn’t make unnecessary mistakes and we have to play in our style.”

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

“We will try not to give away dubious penalties,” Marcelino said.

“We played with 10 men and conceded a dubious penalty. There have been fouls like that, and no one has been sent off.

“They have won 12 out of 12 games at home. They score an average of three goals. We are going there with the hope of winning and reversing their favourable results. 

“It’s one game. 90 minutes and anything can happen. If we play at our best, we’ll have a chance of winning. 

“You also need luck to beat the big teams and this season we haven’t had it. There have been situations that haven’t gone our way. 

“They beat us 0-2, but we played at a high level. We want to put forward the same arguments, but with more luck.”

Team news for Barcelona v Villarreal

Frenkie de Jong faces several weeks on the sidelines for Barcelona with a hamstring injury.

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

For Villarreal, Willy Kambwala (hamstring), Logan Costa (knee), Pau Cabanes (knee) and Juan Foyth (knee) are all unavailable.

Gerard Moreno (thigh) and Pape Gueye (thigh) will need to come through late fitness tests if they are to feature.

Predicted line-ups for Barcelona v Villarreal

Barcelona: J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, E Garcia, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Lewandowski

Villarreal: Luiz Junior; Mourino, Navarro, Veiga, Pedraza; Pepe, Comesana, Gueye, Moleiro; Mikautadze, Perez

How to watch Barcelona v Villarreal: TV and online stream

Barcelona v Villarreal kicks off at 3:15 pm UK time on Saturday. It will not be broadcast on UK TV.

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 the website.

Stats for Barcelona v Villarreal

• The last two Barcelona home games against Villarreal produced a total of 13 goals, with the away side winning both.
• Three of the last four games in this fixture have been won by Villarreal, though only two took place at Camp Nou.
• Only Kylian Mbappe (27) has registered more LaLiga goal involvements than Lamine Yamal (19) this season.
• Villarreal duo Alberto Moleiro (13) and Georges Mikautadze (12) have combined for 25 goal involvements in LaLiga.
• Barca striker Robert Lewandowski has five goals against Villarreal since joining the Blaugrana in 2022.

Prediction