La Liga: Buoyant Barca Can Go Sub Sinking

Villarreal vs Barcelona

Hansi Flick’s Barcelona are seeking an eighth consecutive La Liga victory on Sunday when they meet high flying Villarreal in the Primera Division’s biggest draw of the weekend.    

Barca’s El Clasico rivals Real Madrid are in a slump and their manager Xabi Alonso is under increasing pressure, but the same certainly couldn’t be said of Marcelino’s Villarreal who have won their last six league games, though they haven’t been in La Liga action since 6^th December after their last engagement away to Levante was postponed.

While they have made a charge up the league table, currently third and eight points behind Barcelona but with two games in hand, Villarreal are struggling in the Champions League, currently joint bottom of the European league with just one point to show from six games. So maybe the hosts’ league position is a little misleading, unless Marcelino is putting all his eggs in one basket. 

This is certainly a good test of Flick’s reigning champions; but the Blaugrana will be confident of sinking the Yellow Submarine on Sunday.    

 

Talking Points

Can Villarreal take a big scalp?

One way to be taken deadly seriously as a title contender is to beat the leaders, and that is the opportunity facing Marcelino’s men this weekend. Last time out they beat Getafe 2-0, with the help of their visitors going down to ten men, and before that they beat an improving Real Sociedad by the odd goal in five. Six league wins on the bounce is hugely impressive but Villarreal’s cup showings have been disastrous. Most recently the Yellow Submarine sank against Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey third round, and were beaten 3-2 at home by FC Copenhagen.

Villarreal have met some big names in Europe and were slapped 4-0 by Borussia Dortmund at the end of November and 2-0 by Manchester City in October. And in the domestic league Villarreal’s two losses have come against Real Madrid and Atletico. The latest La Liga 2025 betting odds make Barca odds on favourites and Los Blancos as the only team that can stop them; but can Villarreal change our minds on Sunday? Can they beat a top team?

Well it’s possible of course but the hosts need to have the game of their lives, and captain Dani Parejo must get every ounce of effort from his team. Top scorer Albert Moleiro, with six, is the Yellow Submarine’s best chance of a goal but Villarreal will be on the back foot for much of the game and Argentine centre back Juan Foyth will be a busy boy at the heart of defence.   

 

Barca’s brutal attack

While Flick has been working on tightening up Barca’s inconsistent defence his attacking unit needs no attention at all, racking up a remarkable 49 goals in 17 league games to give them an 11 goal advantage over both Real Madrid and Villarreal. Take a look at the list of the Primera Division top scorers and you can find four Blaugrana stars in the top six positions. Los Blancos’ Kylian Mbappe tops the list on 17 goals, and he is tracked by the ever improving Ferran Torres in second place on 11, the evergreen Robert Lewandowski in fourth on eight, and Lamine Yamal and Raphinha joint sixth with six goals.        

Raphinha was simply sensational as the Blaugrana swept Osasuna aside last week and this is a truly terrifying attacking unit when it is on song, as it has been in recent weeks; and if Lewi starts to hit his usual ratios the Catalans will take some catching. This is a team capable of filling the La Liga 2025 highlights by itself and, if Villarreal are at their best, a ticket at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Sunday will be worth its weight in gold.  

 

History

The Catalans have enjoyed their bouts with Villarreal over the past 46 meetings, winning 29, drawing nine and losing eight. And they have had plenty of success in their away encounters, winning 14, drawing five and losing four on Villarreal’s home turf. The results were topsy-turvy last season, with the Yellow Submarine winning 3-2 in Barcelona and the Blaugrana plundering a 5-1 win in Castellon.    

In terms of recent form, taken across all competitions, Barcelona are way ahead with six wins from six, compared with Villarreal’s two wins, one draw and three defeats.  

 

Betting Tip

The SBOTOP odds are backing the Blaugrana to win on Sunday and so am I. Villarreal fans will be rightly attracted by odds of 3.40 to win, 4.40 to draw and the Double Chance: Win or Draw is at 1.91; but my preferred alterative is a 2-1 win to Barcelona at a price of 8.75, or even 3-1 at 12.00.  

   

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