Barcelona vs Villarreal Prediction & Betting Tips - LaLiga

Prediction published on 25/01/2024, 12:30  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 27/01/2024 at 04:30 in LaLiga Prediction

Barcelona will hope to take charge of their season when they welcome Villarreal in their next La Liga game on Saturday. Though with a game in hand, Barcelona are eight points off the top, while Villarreal are just five above the relegation region. In recent times, Barcelona have suffered some heavy blows and Xavi will demand a response from his charges. The hosts are coming from a 4-2 away loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. An earlier loss to Real Madrid in the Super Cup means Barcelona come here on a low but they’ll still be favorites. The biggest undoing for Xavi’s men has been a clear lack of defensive solidity. They have conceded more than a goal in seven of their last 11 matches. They have just one clean sheet in that 11-match run. While they have lost just twice in the league this season, they are the side with the most draws in the top four. It doesn’t also help that their defeats came against the top two sides. A loss here could even see Barcelona drop out of the top four.

Villarreal are coming into this game seeking to improve on their 1-1 draw with Mallorca last time out. The Yellow Submarine were on course to a first win in four matches, until the tide changed in the second half. Alexander Sorloth got them in the lead but they had Pepe Reina sent off before Mallorca leveled in stoppage time. Now they face a side that has beaten them in the last three meetings, at a time Villarreal are going through desperate times. The draw with Mallorca left Villarreal just four points above the relegation zone. A key concern for them will be their poor returns in defence, having conceded 42 league goals already. Only bottom placed Almeria have a worse defensive record. Four of those goals were against Barcelona, after a 4-3 defeat in the first meeting this season. Like Barcelona, Villarreal are coming from high scoring matches, punctuated by very few clean sheets. In their last 10 games for example, Villarreal have one clean sheet. Six of their last eight matches have had over 2.5 goals.