Villarreal are set to take on Barcelona on Sunday, 22 September in a match that sees two undefeated teams go head-to-head.
The visitors are currently top of the La Liga table following five wins from five matches but they did lose in the Champions League this week so could they have a hangover from that defeat?
Villarreal are currently in fourth place after three wins and two draws and will be keen to keep pace with the leaders in this early part of the season.
How the bookies view it: The visitors come in as favourites
Villarreal start this match as the underdogs which isn't all that surprising considering Barcelona have won every match they have played in Spain this season. Betfred have priced the home side at 11/4 to get the win on Sunday while a Barcelona win has been priced at 5/6. The draw, which would break Barca's 100% start to the season, has been priced at 16/5.
Recent head-to-head: Goals galore
Last season, the two matches between Villarreal and Barcelona were two of the best matches of the entire season. Barcelona won 4-3 in the match played at the Estadio de la Ceramica while Villarreal won 5-3 in the match played at the Olympic Stadium. Interestingly, Barcelona have won on their last five visits to this stadium.
Players to watch: More teenage magic on the cards?
Despite only being 17 years old, Lamine Yamal started this season with a lot of pressure on his shoulders after being the talk of the football world following his Euro 2024 performances. While Yamal impressed for Barcelona last season, he has quickly gone up a level or two and is now one of Barcelona's most important and best players.
Yamal has started the new season in incredible form, scoring four goals and providing five assists in six appearances across La Liga and the Champions League and it's got to the point now where it would be a shock if he went a game without getting himself a goal contribution.
Villarreal have young, talented players themselves. Thierno Barry may not be a 17-year-old sensation like Yamal but he is a 21-year-old with bags of potential and has impressed in his first four games for the club since signing from Basel for £14m. He got off the mark against Celta Vigo and will now be looking for more.
Predicted line-ups
Villarreal are without four players for this one with Juan Foyth, Willy Kambwala, Alfonso Pedraza and Gerard Moreno all unavailable. Barcelona have an even longer injury list with seven players, including Frenkie de Jong and Dani Olmo, out for this one. Ferran Torres also misses out after being red-carded against Girona.
Villarreal: Conde – Femenia, Albiol, Costa, Cardona – Akhomach, Parejo, Comesana, Baena – Perez, Barry
Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde – Garcia, Casado, Pedri – Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha
Anything else catch the eye?
As already mentioned the two games last season produced a total of 15 goals and both teams have been among the goals this season, too. There have been 19 goals scored in Villarreal's five La Liga matches while 21 have been scored in Barcelona's five. Over 3.5 goals to be scored on Sunday has been priced at 1/1 by Betfred.
This La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona will be played on Sep 22, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. 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.
