Having been knocked out of the Copa del Rey in midweek, Barcelona are aiming to bounce back on Saturday evening when they host a struggling Villarreal side at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
The Catalans are in good form in La Liga, having won their last three matches in the competition. They will hope to make it four, as they begin their task of closing the gap to Girona and Real Madrid at the top of the table.
Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez will be forced into changes for the match. Alejandro Balde is expected to miss the next few months with a hamstring injury, so Hector Fort – who deputised so impressively after coming on against Athletic – is set to continue, as per Sport.
Another change in defence would see Joao Cancelo make his first appearance since picking up a knee injury against Las Palmas at the start of the month. He is set to start at right-back, with Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde in central defence.
Having played 99 minutes on Wednesday, Pedri is expected to be rested against Villarreal, with Oriol Romeu earning a rare start. The final predicted change would see Ferran Torres dropping out despite his impressive recent form, with Joao Felix given that chance to impress from the start.
For Villarreal, they are undoubtedly underdogs coming into this one. Their defence, which hasn’t kept a clean sheet in La Liga since September, will be tested, although they do have quality in attack. Gerard Moreno will be their leader in this regard, while Goncalo Guedes is primed to start for the first time since arriving on loan from Benfica.
Don’t be surprised if there is plenty of goals in this one. Both teams’ defences have been under par for some time now, so it’s likely to be a case of who scores more. Barcelona have plenty of firepower, and will fancy their chances, but do not write off Villarreal.
