Villarreal vs Barcelona, LaLiga preview: Prediction, start time, team news, TV, live stream, h2h, odds
Barcelona travel to Villarreal today knowing anything but a win may all-but secure the LaLiga title for rivals Real Madrid.
Quique Setien's men dropped points once more against Atletico Madrid last time out, with Zinedine Zidane's men continuing their 100 per cent record since the restart to move four points clear at the top of the table.
Lionel Messi's future is up in the air, with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser claiming he has called off contract talks after running out of patience with the club.
The continuous speculation will do Barcelona no good, and with a tricky visit to fifth-placed Villarreal, a win could resemble a real statement.
Date, venue and kick-off time
Villarreal vs Barcelona will be held at Estadio de la Ceramica on tonight with a kick-off time of 9pm BST.
Prediction: Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona
Villarreal are certainly the team in form having won four from their last five. Barcelona - on the other hand - have won just two.
Nevertheless, this is a game Barcelona simply have to win. And you can never write them off. If they are to win the league, they will have to win every game remaining - and hope Madrid slip up.
While it will be a close game, I can't predict anything else other than a Barcelona win.
How to watch
LaLiga will be available on Premier Sports with LaLigaTV for the rest of the season. To get access to all the games, customers should visit premiersports.com and register.
With games due to be shown on TV on Channel 435 on Sky, fans can also live stream the matches online via the Premier Player app.
Pre-match coverage will start at 8:15pm BST.
Team news
Villarreal midfielder Vicente Iborra comes in as a doubt due to a muscular problem, while former Everton defender Ramiro Funes Mori remains sidelined.
Barcelona have both Ousmane Dembele and Frenkie de Jong out injured, while Samuel Umtiti is also expected to miss out with a knee problem.
Meanwhile, Sergi Roberto has passed a fitness test and will likely return to the side in place of Nelson Semedo at right-back.
The first name to look on the teamsheet will be Antoine Griezmann, however. The Spaniard was reportedly furious with Setien after playing just minutes against former club Atletico Madrid.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Barcelona have won 20 of 30 games between the two teams, including a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Villarreal, on the other hand, have won 3, with seven draws.
Betting odds and tips
Villarreal to win: 7/2
Barcelona to win: 3/4
Draw: Between 16/5
Odds courtesy of Betfair Exchange. Click here to find out more.
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Evening Standard.
