Barcelona will be looking to quickly bounce back from a disappointing El Clasico defeat at the weekend, as they play host to Villarreal at Camp Nou on Thursday.
At a time when the hosts were beaten 3-1 by their arch rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, their visitors secured a much-needed 2-0 victory over Osasuna.
Barcelona had been virtually unstoppable in La Liga this season, winning seven successive matches by an aggregate score of 20-1 since an opening-day draw with Rayo Vallecano.
Such strong domestic form helped to set up a grandstand Clasico, with Barca sitting at the top of the table, level on points with their formidable rivals going into the 250th edition of the historic fixture.
After a disappointing 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League, it is now essential that Barcelona do not let their confidence slip, with a selection of potential problematic league matches falling either side of an all-or-nothing showdown with Bayern Munich.
Meanwhile, Villarreal will be hoping to build on an encouraging 2-0 victory over Osasuna on Monday, as Arnaut Danjuma scored his first league goals of the season with a brace.
The Yellow Submarine were experiencing a slight dip in form following a strong start to the season, with defeat to Real Betis and Real Sociedad, alongside draws with Cadiz and Getafe seeing them fall out of the European spots.
However, having secured their passage through the Europa Conference League knockout stages, Unai Emery’s side looked back to their assured selves during their weekend victory.
Villarreal claimed their first victory over Barcelona in 27 attempts last season with a 2-0 victory over Xavi’s side at Camp Nou, However, the hosts have plenty more to play for this time around, and should present a much sterner test for the Yellow Submarine.
Barcelona vs Villarreal head to head
These two teams have previously met on 48 occasions across two competitions, where Barcelona have claimed 29 victories while Villarreal have wo nine, and they have drawn in 10. Villarreal have scored 58 goals and conceded 101. In their last five meetings, Villarreal have won one while Barcelona have won four.
Villarreal 1-4 Barcelona 05/07/20
Barcelona 4-0 Villarreal 27/09/20
Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona 25/04/22
Villarreal 1-3 Barcelona 27/11/21
Barcelona 0-2 Villarreal 22/05/22
Barcelona latest home form
Brcelona have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their nine most recent matches. They played out a 3-3 draw with Inter Milan in their last home game in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 16 goals and conceded four.
Barcelona 4-0 Real Valladolid 28/08/22
Barcelona 5-1 Viktoria Plzen 07/09/22
Barcelona 3-0 Elche 17/09/22
Barcelona 1-0 Celta Vigo 09/10/22
Barcelona 3-3 Inter Milan 12/10/22
Barcelona latest away form
Barcelona have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their four most recent matches. They lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and also conceded six.
Cadiz 0-4 Barcelona 10/09/22
Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona 13/09/22
Mallorca 0-1 Barcelona 01/10/22
Inter Milan 1-0 Barcelona 04/10/22
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona16/10/22
Villarreal latest home form
Villarreal have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have been unbeaten in their seven most recent matches. They managed to defeat Osasuna 2-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 16 goals and conceded just four.
Villareal 4-0 Elche 04/09/22
Villarreal 4-3 Lech Poznan 08/09/22
Villarreal 1-1 Sevilla 18/09/22
Villarreal 5-0 Austria Vienna 06/10/22
Villarreal 2-0 Osasuna 17/10/22
Villarreal latest away form
Villarreal have recently been on a relatively good run of form on the road, having lost just one of their four most recent matches. They defeated Austria Vienna 1-0 in their last away game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored three goals and conceded three.
Real Betis 1-0 Villarreal 11/09/22
Hapoel Be’er Sheva 1-2 Villarreal 15/09/22
Cadiz 0-0 Villarreal 01/10/22
Real Sociedad 1-0 Villarreal 09/10/22
Austria Vienna 0-1 Villarreal 13/10/22
Barcelona news
Barcelona will once again be without long-term absentees Andreas Christensen, Memphis Depay and Ronald Araujo.
The duo of Eric Garcia and Ousmane Dembele would seem to be those most in danger of losing their starting spots, as Gerard Pique and Ansu Fati are waiting to feature in the wings on Thursday.
Villarreal news
Alberto Moreno made an emotional return to action on Monday after seven months out of action, and will provide an option from the bench once again.
Jose Luis Morales could be included here having been unused in the league, while Juan Foyth, Gerard Moreno and Francis Coquelin all remain sidelined for the visitors.
Prediction and Odds
Barcelona are desperate to keep up with title rivals Real Madrid, and dropped points are simply not an option for Xavi’s side in the weeks following their Clasico defeat.
Villarreal are sure to make it very difficult for the hosts, but Barca’s superior firepower should see them through to a victory.
Odds: 1 2.20 X 2.05 2 2.88
Probable outcomes
Barcelona 1-0 Villarreal
Barcelona 2-0 Villarreal
Barcelona 2-1 Villarreal
Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal
Barcelona 3-2 Villarreal
