Prediction: Barcelona vs Villarreal

Prediction: Barcelona to win 2-1

Best Odds: 13/2

Bookmaker: Betfair

Barcelona and Villarreal will face each other at Camp Nou in La Liga this weekend. The match, which is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Sunday at Camp Nou, promises to be a very exciting and entertaining game of football, and there could be few goals in it as well.

Barcelona

The match against Villarreal at Camp Nou will see Barcelona kick off their 2020-21 La Liga campaign. The Blaugrana finished second in the league table last season with 82 points from 38 matches, five points behind champions and bitter rivals Real Madrid. Barca were also humiliated by German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It was a season to forgot for Barcelona, especially after what happened with the well-documented Lionel Messi ‘will he, won’t he’ transfer saga.

Barcelona are going through a transitional phase at the moment, and they have a new manager and a lot of the old(er) players are leaving. Ronald Koeman has been appointed as the new boss of the Spanish and European giants, and the former Netherlands international will be overseeing the change at Camp Nou. Luis Suarez has left for Atletico Madrid, Nelson Semedo has moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ivan Rakitic has switched to his former club Sevilla, and Arturo Vidal has gone back to Italy, this time to play for Inter Milan. Meanwhile, Miralem Pjanic has joined Barcelona from Italian champion Juventus.

Team news

Barcelona will be without their first-choice goalkeeper Marc-Andre ten Stegen until at least October due to a knee injury, meaning that Neto will be between the sticks for Koeman’s side. Samuel Umtiti and Martin Braithwaite have knee and thigh problems respectively.

Villarreal

Villarreal kicked off their 2020-21 La Liga campaign on September 13 when they played out a 1-1 draw with Huesca at El Madrigal. The Yellow Submarine’s next game in the league was also at home, and this time they picked up all three points courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Eibar. Unai Emery’s side will know that it is not going to be easy against Barcelona at Camp Nou, but the visiting team will be hoping that Barcelona slip up amid all the uncertainty and the chaos at the club.

Former Arsenal head coach Emery was appointed the manager of Villarreal in the summer, and the Spaniard will be looking to guide the team to the top four of the La Liga table this season. The Yellow Submarine signed Takefusa Kubo, Francis Coquelin and Dani Parejo in the summer transfer window, while Santiago Cazorla among others left.

Team news

Alberto Moreno, Ramiro Guerra and Ruben Pena are out due to injury, while Raul Albion could miss out with a broken nose.

Key Factors to Consider

• Barcelona scored 16 more goals than Real Madrid last season.
  Barcelona conceded 38 goals in 38 league games last season.
  Villarreal finished fifth in La Liga last season.
  The Yellow Submarine scored 63 goals and conceded 49 times.
  Barcelona beat Villarreal 4-1 last time they met each other.

Conclusion

Barcelona were defensively found out last season, especially in the Champions League, and it will take a while for Koeman to sort out their backline. However, with Messi in the team, the home team should score more than Villarreal and pick up all three points from the encounter.

Prediction: Barcelona to win 2-1

Best Odds: 13/2

Bookmaker: Betfair