Barcelona will be looking to build on their win last weekend as they head to Villarreal for a La Liga fixture on Sunday. The Catalans have a fine record in this fixture and with Villarreal not particularly convincing at the moment, an away win could be on the cards.
Villarreal head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a hard fought 1-0 victory at Mallorca last time out in La Liga. They were made to work hard by their hosts with Gerard Moreno’s effort midway through the second half proving the difference.
It was a decent way to bounce back for Villarreal after suffering a 2-1 home defeat to real Betis in their opening fixture. However, the display was not up to their usual standards as they struggled to break down Mallorca’s backline.
The Estadio de la Ceramica is generally considered a fortress for Villarreal as they often do their best work in front of their fans. However, the defeat to Betis means Quique Setien’s men are winless in their last two home matches.
Barcelona finally got off the mark for the season as they claimed a 2-0 victory over Cadiz last time out. They were given a stern test by the visitors before late efforts from Pedri and Ferran Torres earned them all three points.
Having been held 0-0 by Girona in their opening fixture, Barcelona will be keen to avoid dropping further points, especially with Real Madrid winning matches so far. Xavi’s men are two points off the pace and would hate to lose more ground on their rivals.
The good thing for Xavi’s men is that their defensive discipline from last season remains intact as they are yet to concede so far. However, they will need striker Robert Lewandowski to rediscover his scoring touch having failed to find the net in the opening two matches.
How the bookies view it
Barcelona have the upper hand among the bookies with a win priced at 21/20 with BetVictor. A victory for Villarreal is valued at 5/2 with BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 14/5 by William Hill.
Recent Head to Head
Barcelona often do well in this fixture and did the double over Villarreal last season. The Catalans have been victorious on their last four visits to the Estadio de la Ceramica and picked up a 1-0 win in last season’s meeting.
Players to watch
Robert Lewandowski will be keen to get off the mark this season after firing blanks in the opening two fixtures. The Polish striker usually does not go too long without scoring and is priced at 11/10 with William Hill.
It was a shutout for Barcelona in both meetings with Villarreal last season and with the Catalans looking solid defensively once again, they will be targeting a similar outcome. Andreas Christensen should continue at the heart of the backline and can lead the visitors to a clean sheet at 23/10 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Barcelona won to nil in both fixtures against Villarreal and can be set for a repeat at 3/1 with BoyleSports. A -1 handicap could also be considered at 5/2 with William Hill.
Both teams have seen more second half goals in their fixtures this season and Saturday’s clash can be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona will be played on Aug 27, 2023 and kick off at 16:30. Check below for our tipsters best Villarreal vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
