Barcelona Vs Villarreal - Spanish Primera Liga match preview
The La Liga leaders, Barcelona, travel to Camp El Madrigal on Saturday where they will clash with the hosts, Villarreal, in a Spanish Primera Liga match.
The invincible Barcelona did amazingly well in almost all competitions this season by cruising into the Champions League quarter-finals, securing a spot in the finals of the Copa del Rey competition and also leading the La Liga table with a convincing five
points margin over Real Madrid.
The Catalan giants have a wonderful record behind them, which gives them a definite edge over Villarreal. Barcelona’s star player, Pedro, speaking about the approaching encounter said, “We are very ambitious as a team. We want to win trophies and we want
to continue our development. We need to use the space well and play the ball around quickly. I think the team is (looking) very good and hopefully we can achieve something beautiful again this year.”
Villarreal have to turn out their best performance if they want to win because throughout this season their game has been nothing short of a big disappointment. They started their La Liga campaign rather brilliantly by winning 10 of their 11 home matches,
but then they somehow faltered as they were able to win only one match in their last four games.
Villarreal’s record against Barcelona is mystifying with some real big positives and few negatives. Villarreal played eight matches against Barcelona out of which they were defeated only twice. Quite interestingly both times Villarreal were defeated at their
home ground. So, there is every chance they could pull up a sensational draw against Pep Guardiola’s men once again.
Barcelona’s away match record is quite commendable because they are yet to be beaten in an away game this season. Barcelona forwards have been unstoppable at times as their 42 goals in away matches makes them the world’s finest players. At the same time,
their defence, by only conceding six away goals, has not done anything wrong as well.
Team News
The news from the Barcelona camp is that http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Maxwell-c25051, Pedro will miss the match. Xavi will also sit on the sideline benches due to his suspension.
The positive that will cheer up Villarreal is Nilmar’s return into the team as he has fully recovered from a leg injury. Marcos Senn and Angel Lopez will see the match as mere spectators.
Key Players
Lionel Messi
Although Barcelona are equipped with some of the world’s finest players, they expect the talented http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 to do the job again for the team. Lionel Messi could run away with the show if Villarreal fails to exert pressure on him. He has scored 27 goals
in the total of 26 matches for the club.
Giuseppe Rossi
If Villarreal are expecting to pull off the match against Barca, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Giuseppe-Rossi-c15027 needs to stand up and deliver just like he stood up in the last few matches. His 15 goal in this season makes him the top scorer for the team. Out of the last four Villarreal
goals, three goals have come from the boot of Rossi.
Prediction
Barcelona have found it difficult to end up as victors in their last three encounters as they won these matches by a close one goal margin. Considering the quality of players both teams possess and their recent forms, Barcelona are the favourites and are
expected to clinch the game with a close 2-1 margin.
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