Who: Villareal vs Barcelona
What: Spain’s La Liga
Where: Estadio de la Ceramica in Villareal, Spain
When: Sunday, December 21, at 4:15pm (15:15 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 1215 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream. Click here to follow our live coverage.
Villarreal has quietly mounted a potential dark horse title campaign through most of the first half of La Liga.
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Now it has a chance to make it official when the “Yellow Submarine” host Barcelona on Sunday.
Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a game that could blow the Spanish top flight wide open.
How have Villareal fared in La Liga this season?
The team coached by Marcelino Garcia Toral is in third place, eight points behind leader Barcelona and four behind second-placed Real Madrid. But it has played two fewer games than the powerhouses, so it could easily be in an even stronger position.
Villarreal has disappointed in the Champions League and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a lower-division side this week. But La Liga is a different story. Villarreal is on a six-game winning run, and its only two losses have come at Madrid and Atletico Madrid.
Marcelino’s men have also turned their La Ceramica stadium into a fortress, conceding a miserly four goals in eight home matches while remaining unbeaten and winning all but one of those league encounters.
How have Barcelona fared in La Liga this season?
The game will pit the league’s top defence in Villarreal, with 13 goals allowed in 17 games, against the league’s top attack. Barcelona has poured in 49 goals in that time – 15 more than closest challengers Real – and more than made up for a sometimes shaky defence by outscoring its opponents.
Barcelona will look to both quash thoughts of a challenge by Villarreal and close 2025 on a high note this weekend.
An eighth consecutive league victory for Lamine Yamal and company would also keep the pressure on a Madrid side which is struggling.
Madrid hosts Sevilla on Saturday, with coach Xabi Alonso in need of a convincing victory before they have the two-week winter break to ponder the team’s future.
What happened in Villareal’s last match?
Adding insult to the injury of Villareal’s difficulties outside of La Liga this season, they suffered a shock 2-1 Copa del Rey defeat to second-tier Racing de Santander on Wednesday.
Their last La Liga match was on December 6, and was a 2-0 home win against Girona. In between those two matches, Villareal also suffered a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Copenhagen in the Champions League.
What happened in Barcelona’s last match?
Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford struck late in the game to hand Barcelona a hard-fought 2-0 victory against third-tier side Guadalajara in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday.
Their last La Liga match also saw the Catalans pushed to the limit by Osasuna with Raphinha netting twice late in the game to secure a 2-0 win.
What is the secret of Villareal’s La Liga form?
Villarreal has based its success on a team effort with several goal-scorers and playmakers. But left winger Alberto Moleiro stands out. He is having a breakout first season with the team and leads Villarreal with six league goals. Tajon Buchanan has added five goals, and midfielder Santi Comesana helps a solid midfield.
What are Barcelona’s challenges in their La Liga defence?
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has so far succeeded in making a left-side centre-back of Gerard Martin, who struggled to fill in at left back when Alejandro Balde was injured late last season.
Martin has five consecutive starts in the centre of the defensive line as Flick tries to find a replacement for Inigo Martínez, who left earlier in the year for Saudi Arabia. Martin may be tested by Villarreal’s attack.
What happened to La Liga’s plan to play Villareal-Barcelona in Miami?
The Sunday showdown was originally earmarked for Miami until La Liga’s international expansion plans collapsed under heavy criticism, forcing the cancellation of what would have been the first European league match played abroad.
What happened the last time Villareal played Barcelona?
Villareal were 3-2 winners in the La Liga clash in May at Barcelona in the side’s last encounter, although the home side had already secured the league title five days previous to the match.
The away side took the lead through Ayoze Perez after only four minutes, but Yamal and Fermin Lopez turned the game in Barca’s favour before the break. Villareal were not done, however, with Santi Comesana levelling in the 50th minute before Tajon Buchanan scored the winner 10 minutes from time.
What happened in the corresponding fixture between Villareal and Barcelona last season?
The first meeting between the sides last season resulted in a 5-1 drubbing as Barcelona ran amok at in Villareal.
Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha both netted braces either side of Pedro Torre’s strike. Perez was also on the scoresheet in this match for the home side, but it proved only to be a consolation.
Head-to-head
This is the 55th meeting between the sides, with Barcelona winning 33 of the matches and Villarreal emerging victorious on 11 occasions.
Villareal have won their last two trips to Barcelona, but the Catalan club have the same record from their last two games at La Ceramica.
Villareal team news
Villarreal received a timely boost as veterans Gerard Moreno and Dani Parejo returned to training on Tuesday and should be available to face Barcelona.
Pape Gueye and Ilias Akhomach, however, are away with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Pau Cabanes is a definite injury absentee, while Thomas Partey, Gerard Moreno, Willy Kambwala and Santiago Mourino must prove their fitness before the match.
Barcelona team news
Dani Olmo and Gavi are both absent due to injuries, while Ronald Araujo is set to miss the game due to personal reasons.
Pedri missed training on Friday due to a calf strain, making him a major doubt for the match.
Predicted Villareal lineup
Luiz Junior; Navarro, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona; Buchanan, Comesana, Parejo, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze
Predicted Barcelona lineup
Joan Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Raphinha, Rashford; Torres
