La Liga leaders Barcelona will look to continue their dominance when they face Quique Setien’s Villarreal away from home.
Barcelona will look to make it six wins in a row when they square up against Villarreal on Sunday night. Xavi Hernandez’s men will try to extend their lead to 11 points while second-placed Real Madrid are away on Club World Cup duty. Meanwhile, Villarreal will look to push for a Champions League spot with a win.
The Yellow Submarine are currently sixth in the Spanish top flight with 31 points from their 20 matches. They are just four points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid and will love to create an upset against the league leaders and push for a Champions League spot.
Quique Setien’s men are struggling to keep the momentum going having lost their last two fixtures in the league. They first lost against fifth-placed Rayo Vallecano and then lost to bottom-placed Elche. The Yellow Submarine are the first team to lose to Los Franjiverdes in this edition.
Despite the last two defeats, they are still in contention for a top-four finish but they can’t afford any more slip-ups. The 3-1 defeat at the hands of Elche was a shocking result, no one saw it coming. But, they do have a chance to bounce back, a win against the best in La Liga can surely set the tempo right.
While the Yellow Submarine are currently sixth, they can easily slip with 10th-placed Mallorca just four points behind them. They will have to ensure their poor run of form ends sooner rather than later. Because, if they continue to lose games, Setien’s men might end up in the mid-table rather than the top four.
Villarreal have the fourth-best record at home this season having picked up 19 points in their nine matches. But, they will have to be aware of Xavi Hernandez’s men, who have the best away record with 27 points out of a possible 30.
The team in yellow have not finished in the top four since 2015-16 and their head-to-head record against Barcelona isn’t good either. They have lost six out of their last seven games against Barca. However, their famous 2-0 win away from home last season will surely help them believe that it is possible.
The Catalan giants are on course to reclaim the league title, and they already have an eight-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid. And, can extend it to eleven when they face Villarreal.
Xavi and his team will be eager to seal the title as soon as possible. They do not want to allow Real Madrid any chance in this title race. Their failure to qualify for the Champions League knockout stage was a big blow for the fans. However, they can make it up with the La Liga trophy.
But, for that to happen they first need to get past this difficult challenge of facing Villarreal away from home. The next few weeks will be very critical for Barcelona, as they will face Los Blancos in a two-legged semi-final in the Copa del Rey while taking on Premier League giants Manchester United over two legs in the Europa League knockout round playoff.
While Barcelona president Joan Laporta has already made it clear that La Liga is the priority, they will still love to add a few more titles if possible. The Catalan club are top of the table with 53 points out of their 20 matches.
The visitors are on a brilliant run of form, they have won their last five matches in La Liga. When it comes to all competitions, they are on a ten-match winning streak. Xavi’s men are heading into this fixture on the back of a 3-0 win over Sevilla at Camp Nou. And, a similar sort of performance is expected against the Yellow Submarine.
It is going to be an interesting fixture between two teams who are fighting for different causes. While one is struggling for form, the other has been on a winning run for a while. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look into the teams and the tactics they might use.
Team News & Tactics
Villarreal
Villarreal will be without the services of Alfonso Pedraza, Nicolas Jackson, Giovani Lo Celso, and Filip Jorgensen. The lot had also missed the game against Elche last week due to injury.
🎙 @QSetien 🎙
"We're facing against an extraordinary opponent, who are in a great run of form."#VillarrealBarça
— Villarreal CF English (@VillarrealCFen) February 10, 2023
Apart from them, Quique Setien has nothing else to worry about. He surely has a boost for the clash against Barcelona, as Pau Torres is set to return after missing out against Elche.
The result last time around was a big disappointment for the Yellow Submarine but the manager is still expected to stick to his game plan. Setien is unlikely to shuffle his pack and make any major changes to the XI.
He will go ahead with his trusted 4-3-3 formation. Pepe Reina will start in goal for Setien. Juan Foyth and Johan Mojica will be the full-backs. Torres and Raul Albiol will pair up in the centre of defense.
Alex Baena, Etienne Capoue, and Dani Parejo will once again start in midfield. Samuel Chukwueze, Yeremy Pino, and Gerard Moreno will be the front three.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Reina; Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres, Mojica; Capoue, Parejo, Baena; Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno, Pino
Barcelona
As far as Barcelona are concerned, Ousmane Dembele is out for a while due to a hamstring injury. Joining him on the sidelines is club captain Sergio Busquets, who is dealing with an ankle injury that he picked up against Sevilla.
🚨 The squad for #VillarrealBarça! pic.twitter.com/k15k44kp7p
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 11, 2023
Xavi Hernandez is likely to stick to his XI and there will be only one change which is a forced one with Busquets out. Gavi will drop into the midfield, while Ansu Fati is expected to start as the left-winger.
The Barcelona manager will go ahead with his trusted 4-3-3 formation. Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be in goal. Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen will be the center-back pairing. Jules Kounde and Jordi Alba will be the full-backs.
Gavi, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong will be the three in midfield. Goalscoring machine, Robert Lewandowski will lead the attack, with Fati and Raphinha out wide.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): ter Stegen; Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Pedri, de Jong, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati
Key Stats
- When Villarreal hosts Barcelona at home, the most common result is a 1-0 win for the Catalan giants. Three matches have ended with this result.
- Villarreal have only won five out of the last 24 meetings between the two teams while playing at home. Six matches have ended as a draw, while Barcelona have won 13 times.
- Barca have won 30 out of the last 49 meetings, between the two clubs. The Yellow Submarine have only managed nine wins, while there have been ten draws.
- Barcelona have scored 104 goals in the last 49 matches between the two clubs while Villarreal have found the back of the net on 58 occasions.
- Xavi’s men are on a ten-match winning run in all competitions and are looking to make it 11 in a row. As far as La Liga goes, they have won their last five fixtures.
Player to Watch
Raphinha
Raphinha will start on the right flank and is expected to have a big say in the result of this fixture. In the ongoing season, Raphinha has 14 goal contributions in 29 matches for Barcelona. He has found the back of the net on six occasions and has assisted his teammates on eight occasions.
The Brazilian winger has been in sensational form of late. He has two goals and an assist in the last two league fixtures. Once again, Xavi will bank on the forward to get the job done against the Yellow Submarine. And more such performances will put rumours surrounding his future to bed.
Prediction
Villarreal 0-2 Barcelona
Barcelona have the best defence in La Liga so far and are expected to put on another stunning display in defence. Xavi Hernandez is expected to start with an unchanged backline, and it will be a big challenge for Villarreal to score.
With Barcelona’s frontline firing on all cylinders, they are expected to find the back of the net on multiple occasions. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for the Catalan giants, who will stretch their lead atop the table.
