Villarreal CF vs FC Barcelona Prediction

With both teams in the top four places in La Liga right now and one of these teams fighting for another title, this will be a huge match for Villarreal and Barcelona. A win in this match will be key if Barcelona want to lift the title for the 28th time come the end of the season.

Key Stats

• Villarreal have scored 11 goals in their last 5 matches
• Barcelona have scored 16 goals in their last 5 matches
• The last 10 meetings has not seen a draw between these sides
• Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski is the current La Liga Top Goalscorer with 4 goals

Team Previews, Form and Standout Players

Barcelona will undoubtably challenge for the title this season and they are on their way in doing so, currently sitting in first place ahead of longstanding rivals Real Madrid. They have yet to drop a point, winning all five games they have played so far.

Playing a huge role in that is teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. The 17 year old has contributed towards seven goal involvements, three goals and four assists. He will definitely be one for the future but also is performing extraordinarily now.

Villarreal CF Preview

Predicted Line-Up: Conde; Femenia, Albiol, Costa, S Cardona; Akhomach, Comesana, Parejo, Baena; Perez, Barry

Villarreal have consistently not finished below eighth place in the league standings over the last 10 years bar one poor season, where they came 14th in the 2018/19 edition of La Liga. They have started well for that target to be hit once more. A 2-2 draw on opening weekend with fellow top four challengers Atlético Madrid was followed by 1-2 away win against Sevilla. Back to back wins was made possible by beating Celta Vigo 4-3 the next week. Three points going their way curtesy of seemingly immortal midfielder Dani Parejo in the 10th minute of additional time to break the hearts of the travelling fans. The draws then returned, sharing both a goal and a point with Valencia and then it was back to winning ways in their most recent match, a 1-2 victory against Mallorca on the road.

Despite being in great scoring form, defensively it could be better for El Submarino Amarillo. They have not managed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven games across all competitions. With club captain Raul Albiol still playing and in the starting 11, it begs the question is he costing the team points as the 39 year old scored an own goal in their previous match and it took another stoppage time winner, this time from Ayoze Pérez, to earn three points when Villarreal would have only picked up one.

FC Barcelona Preview

Predicted Line-Up: Ter Stegen; Kounde, Cubarsi, I Martinez, Balde; Casado, E Garcia, Pedri; Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

Barcelona are in flying form at the moment as you would expect and new manager Hansi Flick seems to be nailing the tactics as they are winning in style. A 1-2 away win at Valencia kickstarted their campaign and subsequently their great form. Barca then followed that win with another 2-1 victory, this time at home when Athletic Bilbao travelled to the Camp Nou. Coincidently and another 1-2 win was in store for Barcelona’s next game against Rayo Vallecano. In their next game La Blaugrana were the most dominant the league has seen so far, thrashing Real Valladolid 7-0 with a hattrick from Raphinha. The most recent game they played saw them victorious again, this time 1-4 winners versus last season’s surprise story team Girona.

As we mentioned earlier, Lamine Yamal has been key for them, and he has registered a goal contribution for 7 of Barcelona’s 17 goals so far. His fellow international teammate and now club teammate after the summer transfer window Dani Olmo had managed at least one contribution in the three games he played before picking up an injury. Someone that can score out of nowhere is Polish striker Robert Lewandowski whose 4 goals so far make him the La Liga Golden Boot race leader. We can definitely see himself adding to that tally in this match.

Head To Head Stats: Villarreal CF vs FC Barcelona

There has been 54 matches where these two teams have faced each other throughout history.

With Barcelona being one of the best teams in European history, it is no surprise that they have the advantage as they have won 33 of those games. Villarreal have managed to beat Barca 11 times and a draw between the two sides has only occurred 10 times.

The last five faceoffs have been split in Barcelona’s favour, winning three times to Villarreal’s two. Barcelona are in a great position to improve on their record and close the gap of four wins.

27th January 2024 – FC Barcelona 3-5 Villarreal CF – La Liga

27th August 2023 – Villarreal CF 3-4 FC Barcelona – La Liga

12th February 2023 – Villarreal CF 0-1 FC Barcelona – La Liga

20th October 2022 – FC Barcelona 3-0 Villarreal CF – La Liga

22nd May 2022 – FC Barcelona 0-2 Villarreal CF – La Liga

Betting Tips For Villarreal CF vs FC Barcelona

This fixture always delivers and with both teams desperate for a win to help with their current situations it should be a good one.

With Villarreal and Barcelona trading wins in the previous games it could depend massively on each side’s form heading into this match. Barcelona have been mightily impressive but both teams have conceded goals in almost every match. This game should be a goal-oriented match but Barca are just that step ahead at the moment.

For that reason, our betting experts have gone with FC Barcelona To Win as out best value tip for this game.

Odds of 10/11 mean that a £10 bet has the potential to return up to £19.09 in this match.

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction: Villarreal CF vs FC Barcelona

Villarreal CF 2-3 FC Barcelona

Barcelona are obvious favourites but they are missing some key players through injury and they have relied on their youth academy. Even though La Masia is probably the greatest youth system in the world, these kids lack the experience of playing proper La Liga football and could struggle.

New summer signing Ayoze Pérez has bagged himself three goals in the league so far this season and he could be on target again as we feel like Barca will leave the match with three points but Villarreal will grab at least one goal, maybe more.