Blaugrana are currently occupying third spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 44 points from 20 games, eight adrift of leaders Girona, who have played a game more.
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Barcelona will play host to Villarreal in a La Liga fixture at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a disappointing 4-2 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao in their Copa del Rey semi-final tie in the mid-week, while the Yellow Submarine played out a 1-1 La Liga draw with Mallorca last weekend. Blaugrana are currently occupying third spot in the Spanish top flight standings, having collected 44 points from 20 games, eight adrift of leaders Girona, who have played a game more. The visitors, meanwhile, are languishing at the 14th position, with 20 points to their name from 21 top tier games, five clear of the relegation zone.
⏳ #BarçaVillarreal ⏳ pic.twitter.com/5WLMqEcWZG
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) January 27, 2024
Barcelona failed to progress beyond the quarter-final stage of the Copa del Rey following a 4-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. The teams were level at 2-2 after 90 minutes of action, thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s 26th-minute equaliser and Lamine Yamal’s effort on the stroke of half-hour mark. But the Lions netted twice in extra time to end Barca’s hope’s of securing a 32nd Copa del Rey title. Earlier this month, Xavi’s men failed to defend their Spanish Super Cup title, losing 4-1 to Real Madrid in the final in Saudi Arabia and they are now only fighting on two fronts. Meanwhile, when it comes to the La Liga, the reigning champions secured their 13th league-win of the season against Real Betis on Sunday thanks to Ferran Torres’ hat-trick and one goal from Joao Felix.
Villarreal, who had finished fifth in the La Liga last term, have been far from convincing in the 2023-24 season so far, losing 11 of their 20 league games to be languishing at the bottom half of the standings. Marcelino returned to the helm of the team on November following the departures of Quique Setien and Pacheta, but he has also found it difficult. Villarreal have won just five league games this campaign and their last success came against Celta Vigo last month. After that, Marcelino’s men lost back-to-back top flight games against the likes of Valencia and Las Palmas either side of a Cope del Rey defeat to Unionistas. On Saturday, they shared the spoils with Mallorca despite taking the lead through Alexander Sorloth’s opener on the stroke of half-time.
Barcelona probable starting lineup: Pena, Roberto, Araujo, Kounde, Cancelo, Pedri, F de Jong, Gundogan, Torres, Lewandowski, Yamal
Villarreal probable starting lineup: Jorgensen, Femenia, Bailly, Cuenca, A Moreno, Akhomach, Comesana, Coquelin, Baena, G Moreno, Sorloth
Barcelona
| Opponents | Score |
| Athletic Bilbao | 4-2 (L) |
| Betis | 2-4 (W) |
| Unionistas | 1-3 (W) |
| Real Madrid | 4-1 (L) |
| Osasuna | 2-0 (W) |
Villarreal
| Opponents | Score |
| Mallorca | 1-1 (D) |
| Las Palmas | 3-0 (L) |
| Unionistas | 2-1 (L) |
| Valencia | 3-1 (L) |
| Celta Vigo | 3-2 (W) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 3-4 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 0-1 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 3-0 |
| Villarreal beat Barcelona | 0-2 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 1-3 |
The La Liga fixture between Barcelona and Villarreal will take place at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday at 11:00 pm IST.
| Barcelona vs Villarreal | Key Details |
| Date | January 27 |
| Venue | Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 6:30 pm |
| Kickoff time in India | 11:00 pm |
The live telecast of the La Liga matches in India will be available on Sports 18 network. Besides, football fans in India can also live stream the game through Jio Cinema/ Jio TV. Meanwhile, those in Spain can watch the match on DAZN network and Movistar +.
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