Barça go on the road against a dangerous team and a familiar face looking to continue their perfect start to the year
Villarreal CF (7th, 31pts) vs FC Barcelona (1st, 53pts)*
*Points and positions at the time of writing on Saturday
Competition/Round: 2022-23 La Liga, Matchday 21
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Ousmane Dembélé, Sergio Busquets (out)
Villarreal Outs & Doubts: Giovani Lo Celso, Nicolas Jackson, Alfonso Pedraza (out)
Date/Time: Sunday, February 12, 2023, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday)
Venue: Estadio de la Cerámica, Villarreal, Spain
Referee: Alejandro José Hernández Hernández
VAR: Santiago Jaime Latre
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), Not Available (Canada), Viaplay Sports 2 (UK), Sports18 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following a big win over Sevilla and a rare full week of rest and training in beautiful Catalonia, Barcelona return to action for a crucial La Liga match away to Villarreal at the Estadio de la Cerámica (forever known as El Madrigal in our hearts), on Sunday Night Fútbol.
It is fitting that Barça are playing at the Stadium of Pottery on Super Bowl Sunday, and if like me you’re planning to watch the Chiefs beat the Eagles with Patrick Mahomes winning MVP to officially enter the GOAT conversation, this could not be a better appetizer.
Barça come into this one with a perfect record in 2023 and begin a 40-day stretch that could have up to 11 matches if they advance past Manchester United in the Europa League playoffs, and they’ll also face Real Madrid twice in two competitions before the March international break.
It is a make-or-break month and a half for the Blaugrana, who can take massive steps towards winning La Liga, show that they are ready to compete in Europe and try to eliminate their biggest rivals on their way to a second domestic Cup Final. The run of results and the quality of the performance against Sevilla last week suggests they are ready to continue their dominance, but one bad night can change everything.
And the visit to Villarreal could easily turn into a bad night. Simply put this is one of the toughest away matches in Spain for anyone, and the Yellow Submarine have been especially impressive since former Barça manager Quique Setién took over. Setién brought an intense, attack-based style to a team that needed an exciting new voice after the departure of Unai Emery, and the group responded in a big way.
The last two weeks haven’t been exactly amazing as Villarreal have won only one their last five in all competitions, but they outplayed Real Madrid in both meetings between the two last month at El Madrigal and should have knocked Los Blancos out of the Copa del Rey if not for a somewhat inexplicable second half collapse from the home team.
They’ve lost their last two in the league, but are no less dangerous coming into this one. Setién will relish the opportunity of getting some payback against Barça, and the front three of Samuel Chukwueze, Yéremi Pino and Gerard Moreno has been unplayable at times, especially on the counter.
They’ll fight with Barça for possession and play a high defensive line to try and win the ball in the final third, and they can also be a massive threat on the counter if the two wingers are given space to run at the Barça backline. This promises to be a high-energy battle filled with chances for both sides, and the team that wins midfield probably wins the game based on how the two coaches set up their sides.
Barça fans remember Setién for the 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich and his baffling decisions during his short tenure at Camp Nou, but it’s easy to forget just how much trouble he caused the Blaugrana while in charge of Las Palmas and Real Betis over the years. If you think this will be easy, you’re fooling yourself. Villarreal will come to play, their fans are amazing and very close to the pitch, and Barça cannot afford any mistakes.
The Catalans can go 11 points clear for at least three days at the top of the table, and while Madrid can cut that deficit back to eight points with a home game against bottom of the league Eibar, the pyshological effect of being up double digits on your biggest rivals is almost as important as how long the lead lasts. It’ll prove Barça’s dominance over the league and continue to put massive pressure on Madrid to just stay alive in the title hunt.
A win is huge, especially considering the opponent and the tough ground. Barça must be at their very best, expect a real fight and be clinical with their chances to get all three points.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Araujo, Christensen, Alba; Kessie, De Jong, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski, Fati
Villarreal (4-3-3): Reina; Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Moreno; Capoue, Parejo, Baena; Chukwueze, Gerard, Pino
PREDICTION
Villarreal gave Madrid hell twice in this stadium, and despite their dip in form they are very dangerous and playing well under Setién. I don’t expect Barça’s defense to keep a clean sheet in this one, but I still see the away team finding a way to win: 3-1 to the good guys.
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