The yellow submarine challenges the league leader
Due to the FIFA Club World Cup, the 21st matchday in Spain’s LaLiga stretches from Friday to next Wednesday. The royals from the capital are not in action until then. This means that the current league leaders from Catalonia can extend their top position even further.
The Xavi team, however, has an unpleasant task ahead of them and will meet a very strong team. Nevertheless, on Sunday evening between Villarreal and Barcelona, betting odds of only 1.80 are offered on the home side.
The home side are in sixth place in the current table and have already brought Real Madrid to their knees this season. Can they achieve the same feat against the current league leaders?
It’s hard to imagine, as last weekend Villarreal CF became the first team this season to lose to bottom-placed Elche (six draws, 13 defeats). Reparation is on the agenda, but against the toughest possible opponent. For Villarreal against Barcelona, predictions on the home side are not advised.
It will also be a special occasion for Villarreal head coach Quique Setien, who was with Barcelona between January and August 2020, and will face his former club for the first time. The match kicks off at La Ceramica Stadium on Sunday at 9pm.
Villarreal – Statistics & current form
Satisfaction was by no means the order of the day at the yellow submarine from Villarreal after the January transfer window. The number one between the posts was given away without an adequate replacement. In addition, it was not possible to give the team more depth with new additions. In addition to the problem area in goal, the central defence is also inadequately manned.
The 37-year-old Raul Albiol has to play every game because there are no alternatives. The lack of rotation is especially noticeable in the intense weeks, the liveliness is missing and then such weak games as last weekend come about.
There are hardly any goals to be seen at Villarreal
Villarreal were described at the outset as a very strong team that places a lot of emphasis on possession. The passing game is technically at the highest level, but very little risk is deliberately taken. As a result, the neutral fan with a penchant for tactics finds great pleasure in the games of the yellow submarine, but friends of offensive football rarely get their money’s worth.
Last weekend, they suffered the aforementioned defeat at the hands of bottom-placed Elche. Pepe Reina had to concede three goals, two of them from penalties. Nevertheless, the yellow submarine still has the second best defence in the Spanish top flight. Only their opponents on Sunday have conceded fewer goals. Thus, two very strong defensive lines are facing each other. This underlines our top tip between Villarreal and Barcelona, because the odds for an Under 2.5 or “Both teams score? No” are a good deal too high.
Villarreal have only scored in six league games this season and Barcelona have scored even less (five). Odds of up to 2.16 are a good deal too high in this respect.
Last games played by Villarreal:
La Liga
04/02/2023 – Elche 3 – 1 Villarreal FC
31/01/2023 – Villarreal FC 0 – 1 Rayo Vallecano
22/01/2023 – Villarreal FC 1 – 0 Girona
Copa del Rey
20/01/2023 – Villarreal FC 2 – 3 Real Madrid
La Liga
14/01/2023 – Celta Vigo 1 – 1 FC Villarreal
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
The second half of the season could not have started any better for FC Barcelona. The Catalans underlined their consistency in the current season and celebrated a commanding 3-0 victory against crisis-ridden Sevilla FC thanks to a strong second half. Once again, Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept his box clean. The Xavi team has not conceded a goal 15 times this season. Barcelona have conceded seven goals in just five games.
Three of these seven goals were conceded in the only defeat of the season, the El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Despite this defeat, Barcelona are laughing from the top of the table and already have a clear lead over the defending champions thanks to their enormous consistency. Real are eight points behind Barcelona and Lewandowski & Co could extend their lead with an away win at La Ceramico Stadium. Odds of up to 1.80 are on offer between Villarreal and Barcelona.
27 points in ten away games
At the Camp Nou stadium, ter Stegen has only conceded one goal. Although they have “already” conceded six goals away from home, this does not change their dominance. Apart from the aforementioned defeat against the Royals, all other away matches were won. In six of these nine victories, the score remained zero. Another strong argument for the prediction that not both teams will score.
In terms of personnel, Barcelona will be able to draw almost from the full range. The absences of Dembele and Busquets are known, the rest is ready for action. However, the league leaders will also be looking ahead to Thursday’s Europa League clash against Manchester United. This could well result in one or two changes. However, this does not change the role of the favourites. Those who can bring Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres or Franck Kessie off the bench have real luxury problems at their disposal.
Last Barcelona games:
La Liga
06/02/2023 – FC Barcelona 3 – 0 FC Sevilla
02/02/2023 – Real Betis 1 – 2 FC Barcelona
28/01/2023 – Girona 0 – 1 FC Barcelona
Copa del Rey
26/01/2023 – FC Barcelona 1 – 0 Real Sociedad
La Liga
23/01/2023 – FC Barcelona 1 – 0 Getafe
Villarreal – Barcelona Direct comparison / H2H balance
A small anniversary will be the match late Sunday night at the yellow sub’s new La Ceramica stadium. For the 50th time the teams will face each other in a competitive match and the direct comparison speaks a clear language in favour of the Catalans.
The Blaugrana have won 30 of the 49 games, ten times the points have been shared and nine times the underdogs from Villarreal have prevailed. In the first leg this season, Lewandowski & Co had no trouble at all and thanks to a fabulous first half, managed a commanding 3-0 victory, the seventh LaLiga win in a row for the current league leaders against last year’s CL semi-finalists.
Villarreal – Barcelona Tip
After the Setien eleven embarrassed itself to the bone last time out, now awaits the game in which Villarreal has nothing to lose. The good home record (six wins in ten games) is definitely a glimmer of hope for the hosts.
However, anything worthwhile would still have to be called a surprise, because the Xavi team has been extremely consistent this season. In the top match between Villarreal and Barcelona, the odds for the visitors are more than worth considering.
Not only the Elks defeat of Villarreal speaks for Lewandowski & Co, but also the direct comparison (seven wins in a row) as well as their own form. In the calendar year 2023, the Catalans have only ever won. A series we trust and therefore recommend a bet of six units on Villarreal against Barcelona. Since the two best defensive lines in the league are facing each other, we also recommend betting under 2.5 and “Both teams score? No” should be considered as well.
