It’s time to take a look at the preview and betting predictions for La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Villarreal at Camp Nou.
In the wake of Barcelona’s utter disaster in the summer transfer window, the Catalan club starts a new La Liga campaign with a broken dressing room. Leo Messi is in an open war with the club’s president after attempting to leave. Bartomeu decided to sack Luis Suarez in order to take some of that power away from the skipper and decided to bring a disciplinarian as a manager.
The man everybody will be looking at is Ronald Koeman. The Dutch manager will make his official debut as Barcelona’s manager as he fulfills one of his biggest dreams. Although he hasn’t exactly started the revolution he thought he would, Koeman still has to step up to the challenge.
The transfer market will close a week from now and he still expects to sign at least two new players. However, the Barcelona board’s ineptitude is starting to become too obvious to ignore. Koeman has to work with what they’ve given him and there is no other way to look at the whole picture. They start this rocky road at Camp Nou against Villarreal.
FC Barcelona Form & Team Stats
Coming fresh out of the biggest defeat in the club’s history in the Champions League. This Barcelona side will need to find a proper start of the season if they don’t want another disaster on their hands. They will always depend on Leo Messi but other players have to step up as well. There are a few comebacks that should be important for the club such as Phil Coutinho or Ousmane Dembele. Koeman also needs to make up his mind with the younger players and see if he wants to use them for his project.
Key Team Stats
-Lionel Messi is coming from a complicated previous season but he also won the award for top assist provider.
-THeir last defeat at Camp Nou was against Osasuna near the end of the season.
-Out of the last 44 matches against Villarreal, Barcelona won 26, lost 8, and they have 8 draws in total. .
-This will be Ronald Koeman’s official return to Barcelona since he left the club when he was still a player in the ‘90s.
Villarreal Form & Team Stats
Coming from a surprising season under Santi Cazorla’s lead, this Villarreal side has new challenges ahead of them. They missed Champions League positions by ten points last season and they are looking for a new challenge.
With Cazorla retired, all offensive responsibilities fall on Gerard Moreno, Dani Parejo, and Paco Alcacer. Unai Emery will try to take this club to the highest level of competition and attempt to compete for the Europa League as well. Facing Barcelona at Camp Nou is a perfect test for them to see what they can accomplish this season.
Key Team Stats
-Villarreal hasn’t won a single match at Camp Nou since March, 2008.
-Unai Emery’s return to La Liga after a long period in France and England. His previous club was Sevilla.
-They just signed Dani Parejo from Valencia, who are their city rivals.
-Santi Cazorla just retired and won’t be part of the club’s new season.
FC Barcelona & Villarreal Team News
FC Barcelona: All Barcelona players are available for this match.
Villarreal: Ruben Peña and Alberto Moreno are injured and will miss this match.
Head to Head Record
Match Facts
Betting Tips
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