Barcelona will attempt to stretch their lead at the top of La Liga when they make the trip to top-four hopefuls Villarreal in arguably the game of the weekend in Spain's top flight on Sunday afternoon.
Barca have won their last 12 in the league to open up a healthy eight-point gap over second-placed Atletico Madrid, although that could be cut to five by the time Luis Enrique's side take to the field at El Madrigal.
As for Villarreal, an impressive campaign has left the Yellow Submarine in fourth spot, but they have in-form Sevilla, who face Real Madrid this weekend, breathing firmly down their neck.
Villarreal
© Getty ImagesWith nine games left in La Liga, Villarreal currently sit fourth on 53 points. They are five clear of fifth-placed Sevilla and six clear of sixth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who will both hope to challenge for the final Champions League spot in the remaining weeks of the season. Marcelino's side are currently in charge, but they will enter this match having won just one of their last five in all competitions.
Like Barcelona, they were in European action during the week and a 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. That competition could bring yet a Champions League spot, but they will not want to throw it away in the league. Indeed, they will enter this match off the back of a 4-2 defeat at top-four rivals Sevilla last weekend.
That loss at Sevilla was just their sixth league defeat of the season and they have recorded 15 wins from their 29 top-flight fixtures this term. Goals have been a real problem with just 35 making them the lowest scorers in the top eight, but they have only conceded on 23 occasions, which is a defensive record only bettered by Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Since returning to La Liga for the 2013-14 season, Villarreal have finished sixth twice. Not since the 2010-11 campaign have they made the top four, but they have a real chance of securing a return to the Champions League this time around. This match will obviously be tough, but their next three are very winnable fixtures against Eibar, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano.
Real Madrid and Atletico have both already lost at El Madrigal this season and Villarreal have won 11 of their 15 league games on home soil – only conceding eight times in the process. However, it must be noted that the Yellow Submarine have not beaten Barcelona in a league match in front of their own supporters since October 2007.
Recent form: WDWDLL
Recent form (all competitions): WDLWLD
Barcelona
© Getty ImagesBarcelona are breaking records left, right and centre at the moment and should they record all the points in this weekend's match, they will have won 13 straight league games for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when Pep Guardiola oversaw a run of 16 straight victories. Guardiola had incredible success at Camp Nou, but Enrique is threatening to surpass his fellow Spaniard.
While Barcelona were seen as the favourites to retain the title at the start of the season, few could have predicted just how dominant they have been. The Catalan outfit have won 24 of their 29 league games this season, drawing three times and only losing twice. Eighty-four goals have been scored, which is now the best record in the division, while they have only conceded 22 times.
Barcelona's unbeaten run now stands at 38 matches, meanwhile, after they recorded a 3-1 victory over Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday. That secured a 5-1 aggregate success and booked their spot in the quarter-finals, where they will face Atletico next month. What's more, they will also contest the Copa del Rey final with Sevilla before the end of the season.
The world champions, as mentioned, currently boast an eight-point lead at the top of the division and are also 12 clear of third-placed Real Madrid, which is incredible at this stage. Both of their league defeats this season have come on their travels, however, and that does give Villarreal some sort of hope as they prepare to welcome the in-form team in European football.
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez all netted against Arsenal last time out and the trio now have 106 goals between them this season. Due to suspension and some niggles, Neymar and Suarez have actually been given some rest over the last few weeks, which places them in an even stronger position as they enter the business end of the campaign.
While the Catalan giants are in a wonderful position in the table, defeat against Villarreal would leave them under pressure when they welcome Real Madrid after the international break. With all respect to Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Getafe, Barcelona have comfortably won their last three league matches, but this is a real test against a Villarreal side that have been impressive this term.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW
Team News
© AFPVillarreal will once again be without key defenders Mateo Musacchio and Jaume Costa, while Samu Castillejo is a doubt after limping out of the Leverkusen match on Thursday night.
Jonathan dos Santos will also miss out on the chance to face his former club, but Roberto Soldado and Cedric Bakambu are both fit and expected to start in a 4-4-2 formation.
Barcelona, meanwhile, have no fresh injury concerns from the Arsenal match, but first-choice league goalkeeper Claudio Bravo will replace Marc-Andre ter Stegen between the sticks.
Gerard Pique is also expected to return from a European suspension – taking the place of Jeremy Mathieu – while Sergi Roberto could come in for Andres Iniesta, who has a slight niggle, according to Spain boss Vicente del Bosque.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Alvarez; Mario, Bailly, Ruiz, Rukavina; Suarez, Bruno, Trigueros, Adrian; Soldado, Bakambu
Barcelona possible starting lineup:
Bravo; Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba; Roberto, Rakitic, Busquets; Neymar, Suarez, Messi
Head To Head
Villarreal have not won any of their last 13 league games against Barcelona – losing 10 times in the process, including the last five in a row. What's more, at El Madrigal, Barcelona have not suffered a league defeat since October 2007.
In terms of more recent history, Barcelona recorded a 3-0 victory when the pair met at Camp Nou earlier this season and were also 1-0 winners in the corresponding match last term.
We say: Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona
There is no question that this will be a serious test for Barcelona, but Villarreal will enter the match off the back of a tough game in Germany and having not had much time to recover. Under usual circumstances, we would be inclined to back a draw, but Barcelona strolled for long spells against Arsenal and should have enough in the tank to put another three points on the board.
