Villarreal vs Barcelona

Estadio de la Ceramica is the venue as Villarreal and Barcelona go head-to-head in a blockbuster La Liga contest.

Villarreal’s dismal 2-1 home defeat to Real Betis on matchday one was barely a surprise for the Castellon faithful following a raft of high-profile summer departures, including Samuel Chukwueze, Nicolas Jackson, and Pau Torres. However, long-serving stalwart Gerard Moreno got ‘El Submarino Amarillo’ back on track with a second-half winner in a narrow 1-0 triumph at Mallorca last time out, reigniting the club’s bid to better a fifth-place finish in 2022/23. The impending home return may not be pleasant for Villarreal, considering they’re winless in their last 14 La Liga meetings with Barcelona at La Ceramica (D4, L10). Moreover, manager Quique Setien laments a disastrous record against his former employers, having won one and lost seven of his eight previous managerial encounters against Barca.

Barcelona’s impressive run in the province of Castellon forms part of a mind-blowing record of just one defeat from their last 28 top-flight matches against Villarreal (W21, D6). But they cannot afford to rest on their laurels if they’re to defend the La Liga title after reclaiming domestic supremacy for the first time since 2018/19 last season. A rock-solid defense was the backbone of Barcelona’s top-flight triumph in 2022/23, with Xavi Hernandez’s side conceding a league-low 20 goals last term. They’ve continued in the same fashion this year, following a gut-wrenching 0-0 away draw against Getafe with a late 2-0 home victory over perennial bottom-half underachievers Cadiz a week ago. With Robert Lewandowski looking to get off the mark in 2023/24, Barcelona could become the first-ever side to score a century of goals against Villarreal in La Liga, a feat they’re only two goals short of.