Villarreal vs Barcelona Preview

All of a sudden the chasing packs in the La Liga have hopes of catching Barcelona following their recent results.

The Catalans have drawn their last two league games and could struggle to win this game also as Villarreal have top four ambitions.

Villarreal used a largely second string team in their Europa League game on Thursday and should present a fresh side in this game.

They have not been very consistent this season but they look better than last season and could end this season inside the top four if they can maintain their form throughout the entire season.

Their form this season has been helped greatly by the form of their attacking duo – Cedric Bakambu and Carlos Bacca.

Bakambu has been very impressive with 5 goals in his last 4 games and 14 goals in all competitions.

Barcelona are still favourites to win the La Liga this season but their recent poor run of form could see their points lead at the top of the table cut down if they fail to win here again.

In their last five games, they have only won against Real Murcia in the Copa Del Rey and against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

This season they have also been overly reliant on Lionel Messi for goals and if Villarreal can find a way to stop the Argentine, the Barcelona attacking threat could be neutralised.

Barce will be without Samuel Umtiti for this game and that will be a major blow as he has been their most important defender this season.

Thomas Vermalean has impressed with Gerard Pique however they face a stronger test in this game and the Catalans will be hoping they can cope.

Barcelona have not lost any of their last ten visits to Villarreal.

Results of each team’s last 5 matches across all leagues and competitions

Villarreal

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
L	Leganes		3-1		Villarreal	3 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Villarreal		3-0		Ponferradina	30 Nov, 2017	Spanish Copa del Rey
L	Villarreal		2-3		Sevilla FC	26 Nov, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	FC Astana		2-3		Villarreal	23 Nov, 2017	Europa League
D	Athletic Bilbao		1-1		Villarreal	19 Nov, 2017	Spanish Primera División

Barcelona

LAST FIVE GAMES						DATE	COMPETITION
W	Barcelona		2-0		Sporting CP	5 Dec, 2017	Champions League
D	Barcelona		2-2		Celta Vigo	2 Dec, 2017	Spanish Primera División
W	Barcelona		5-0		Murcia	29 Nov, 2017	Spanish Copa del Rey
D	Valencia		1-1		Barcelona	26 Nov, 2017	Spanish Primera División
D	Juventus		0-0		Barcelona	22 Nov, 2017	Champions League

H2H

LAST FIVE GAMES					DATE	COMPETITION
Barcelona		4-1		Villarreal	6 May, 2017	Spanish Primera División
Villarreal		1-1		Barcelona	8 Jan, 2017	Spanish Primera División
Villarreal		2-2		Barcelona	20 Mar, 2016	Spanish Primera División
Barcelona		3-0		Villarreal	8 Nov, 2015	Spanish Primera División
Villarreal		1-3		Barcelona	4 Mar, 2015	Spanish Copa del Rey

Other fixtures taking place this week in the Spanish Primera:

Spanish Primera Table

Spanish Primera Results