Sports Innovation previews the La Liga match between Villarreal and FC Barcelona and offers team stats and betting tips with the latest odds.
Villarreal welcome Barcelona for a clash in La Liga at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Saturday night.
It’s been a relatively disappointing start to the season for both clubs. Villarreal are down in 12th-place in the La Liga table, having managed a joint-league best of seven draws alongside Levante. They have 16 points to their name thus far, four points less than the seventh-placed Barcelona.
The Blaugrana, meanwhile, hope to make it back-to-back La Liga wins under new manager Xavi Hernandez.
Our tip
Facts and figures for Villarreal vs Barcelona in La Liga.
- Villarreal scored in the last 7 of 9 matches;
- Total goals was UNDER 3.5 in Villarreal’s last 3 of 5 matches;
- Villarreal conceded in the last 5 of 7 matches;
- Both teams scored in Villarreal’s last 4 of 6 matches.
- Barcelona unbeaten the last 3 matches in a row;
- Barcelona did not win the last 5 matches in a row when playing away;
- Total goals was UNDER 3.5 in Barcelona’s last 3 of 5 matches;
- Barcelona scored in the last 6 of 8 matches.
Current form — Villarreal v. Barcelona
The Yellow Submarine keep target in sight
It has been up and down for Villarreal going into this match as league results offer little sense of progress. Judging by their last 3 matches, we can expect a bit of everything from Unai Emery’s side at the moment. Against Getafe, they came out on top in a 1-0 win, before drawing 1-1 against Celta Vigo. Most recently they were left reeling in a 2-0 defeat win against Manchester United.
The Blaugrana hope to boost points tally
It has been up and down for Barcelona going into this match as league results offer little sense of progress. Xavi’s side go into their upcoming match unbeaten in their previous 3 matches, which started off with a 3-3 draw against Celta Vigo. They went on to beat Espanyol by 1-0, before sharing the spoils with Benfica in a 0-0 draw.
Judging by the latest bookmaker odds, a close encounter can be expected. Placing your bet on a home win pays out at 2.75, while a win for the visitors gets you odds of 2.65. A draw, meanwhile, pays out odds at a tempting 3.50.
Villarreal v. Barcelona — fixture history
The last time the pair played each other, Barcelona came away as 2-1 winners in a La Liga match, back in April 2021.
Villarreal have won none of their last 10 encounters against upcoming Barcelona in La Liga. In other words, they have a 0-2-8 recent record, with the latter winning 80% of the matches. These matches were also remembered for a large number of goals.
Current table in the La Liga
Top marksman
Arnaut Daniuma is Villarreal’s top goalscorer in recent games, having found the back of the net twice. Similarly, Barcelona have Memphis Depay on top form, with 3 goals to his account in the last 5 games, and he will be keen to keep this run going.