Villarreal vs Barcelona

Estadio de la Ceramica forms the backdrop for a handsomely-looking La Liga meeting between Villarreal and Barcelona.

Without the distraction of European football for the first time since 2019/20, Villarreal have enjoyed a bright La Liga start, with Ayoze Perez’s last-gasp winner against Mallorca last weekend (2-1) upholding their unbeaten league record in 2024/25 (W3, D2). Late goals have been a recurring theme this season as ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ needed an extra-time strike to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in their most recent home outing. Topically, Villarreal bagged two stoppage-time goals to defeat Barcelona 5-3 in their last La Liga encounter on hostile turf and, as a result, could make it back-to-back H2H league victories for the first time since March 2008. However, Villarreal’s winless home run against Barcelona in La Liga lasts too long, as you’d need to go back to October 2007 to dig out their last H2H top-flight triumph at La Ceramica.

In the meantime, Eric Garcia’s 11th-minute red card ruined Barcelona’s first Champions League game under Hansi Flick, paving the way for Monaco’s 2-1 victory in midweek. Los Blaugranas will relish the upcoming La Liga return after kicking off the new league campaign with five consecutive victories, including a scintillating 4-1 win against Girona last weekend. That was the seventh successive away league match to see Barcelona score multiple goals, suggesting a flurry of goals could take center stage at La Ceramica. Topically, the Catalan heavyweights ran out 4-3 victors in this corresponding fixture last term, underscoring the potential for a remarkable contest. Adding to the excitement, the visitors had to recover from a deficit to win their first two away league games this season.