The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a shock 3-1 defeat to rock-bottom side Elche last Saturday, while Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 3-0 a day later.
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Barcelona will be hoping to extend their winning streak to six games in the La Liga when they travel to El Madrigal to take on Villarreal on Sunday night. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a shock 3-1 defeat to rock-bottom side Elche last Saturday, while Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 3-0 a day later. The victory helped the Catalan outfit to move to 53 points from 20 games, at the summit of the Spanish top flight standings, eight clear of second-placed Real Madrid. Villarreal, meanwhile, are sitting at the sixth position, with 31 points to their name, four adrift of the top-4.
🚨 The squad for #VillarrealBarça! pic.twitter.com/k15k44kp7p
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 11, 2023
Villarreal are going through a bit of a rough patch, having lost each of their last two league-games. Quique Setien’s side’s latest defeat to Elche was certainly a shock and a setback to their top-four hopes. Pere Milla netted a hat-trick for Elche at Manuel Martinez Valero, while Gerard Moreno’s 23rd-minute effort proved to be just a consolation goal for Villarreal. It was the Yellow Submarine’s seventh top flight defeat of the season. Meanwhile, Villarreal have largely been solid at home, picking up 19 points from nine matches, which is the fourth-best record in the division.Â
Barcelona, on the other hand, have the best away record, having collected 27 points from 10 matches on the road. Blaugrana netted three times against Sevilla last time out, courtesy of second half efforts from Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha. It was Xavi’s side’s 17th La Liga-win of the season and the result helped them to extend their unbeaten run to 15 games across all competition, while winning 14 of those. Meanwhile, the Spanish tactician won his first title as Barcelona manager last month, defeating Real Madrid to win the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh. After the Villareal-game, Blaugrana will host Manchester United in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 tie in Camp Nou on February 16.Â
Villarreal’s injury list consists of Alfonso Pedraza, Nicolas Jackson, Giovani Lo Celso and Filip Jorgensen. Moreno, who was on the scoresheet in the loss at Elche last time out, will lead the line, with Chukwueze, Baena and Pino in support. As for Barcelona, Ousmane Dembele is sidelined with a hamstring issue, while Sergio Busquets is also occupying the treatment room with an ankle problem. In the absence of Busquets, Frenkie De Jong will run the engine room, alongside Pedri and Gavi.Â
Villarreal Probable line-up: Reina, Foyth, Albiol, P Torres, Mojica, Capoue, Parejo, Chukwueze, Baena, Pino, G Moreno
Barcelona probable line-up: Ter Stegen, Kounde, Araujo, Christensen, Alba, Pedri, De Jong, Gavi, Raphinha, Lewansowski, Fati
Villarreal
| Opponents | Score |
| Elche | 3-1 (L) |
| Rayo Vallecano | 0-1 (L) |
| Girona | 1-0 (W) |
| Real Madrid | 2-3 (L) |
| Celta Vigo | 1-1 (D) |
Barcelona
| Opponents | Score |
| Sevilla | 3-0 (W) |
| Betis | 1-2 (W) |
| Girona | 0-1 (W) |
| Real Sociedad | 1-0 (W) |
| Getafe | 1-0 (W) |
| Last 5 match-results | Score |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 3-0 |
| Villarreal beat Barcelona | 0-2 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 1-3 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 1-2 |
| Barcelona beat Villarreal | 4-0 |
The La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona will take place at El Madrigal on Monday at 1:30 am IST.
| Villarreal vs Barcelona | Key Details |
| Date | February 12 (Spain) |
| Venue | El Madrigal |
| Kickoff time in Spain | 9:00 pm (Sunday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Monday) |
The live telecast of the La Liga matches in India is available on the Sports 18 network. Fans will also be able to watch the match on Jio TV. Besides, the match between Villareal and Barcelona can also be seen on Movistar LaLiga, Movistar + and Movistar La Liga 2 in Spain.
