Barcelona vs Villarreal

Midweek La Liga action caps off with a handsomely-looking top-half showdown between Barcelona and Villarreal at the Spotify Camp Nou.

Back to Camp Nou following last weekend’s morale-crushing 3-1 El Clasico loss to Real Madrid, Barcelona can ill-afford another slip-up if they’re to consolidate their bid to arrest a three-season title drought in La Liga. Now three points adrift of pacesetters Madrid, Xavi Hernandez’s men can draw inspiration from their stellar home league form that’s seen them win four consecutive La Liga games at Camp Nou without conceding. Taking into account a dull 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano on the opening weekend, the ‘Blaugrana’ are the only side in Spain’s top flight yet to concede a single goal this season. However, the hosts would be silly to let that lead them to a false sense of security, knowing they finished on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline in this corresponding fixture last season.

After taking Barcelona down on their most recent visit to Camp Nou, Villarreal could win back-to-back La Liga H2Hs for the first time since 2008. Having snapped a woeful run of 25 consecutive H2Hs without winning (D6, L19), ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ come into this clash in high spirits. Goals on either side of halftime helped Unai Emery’s team to a 2-0 home win over Osasuna last time out, ending their underwhelming streak of four winless La Liga outings beforehand (D2, L2). But scoring has been a genuine problem for Villarreal on the road this season. Since sinking Atletico Madrid 2-0 on their opening La Liga travel, the visitors have gone four successive away league games without scoring, alternating between drawing (2) and losing (2) on each occasion.