The visiting Barcelona side should be favourites in this visit to Villarreal, as the away team holds a 40 point advantage from their 29 league games this season.
It's no vacation for neither Villarreal nor Barcelona as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Villarreal form and stats
The struggle is real here at Estadio de la Cerámica with only 15 points collected from 15 games. The win-draw-lost numbers are ugly 3-6-6. Villarreal has recorded two wins in a row here at Estadio de la Cerámica, increasing their hopes of victory in this match.The fans are hoping that Villarreal will strike back in this match, putting things right after the 2-3 away loss in the La Liga game against Celta de Vigo. Before that game, the 3-1 home victory against Rayo Vallecano.
The Villarreal fans would probably like to see some more goals scored at their own stadium, the tally being 20 in 15 matches. Villarreal have conceded 20 in these home matches.
Barcelona form and stats
The away performances of Barcelona, who have the most points (38) away in La Liga, have been very solid so far with 10 wins, 8 draws and 1 defeat. The question is whether this happy travelling can continue. In general it has been a productive period now for Barcelona as they haven't lost any of their last 14 games. The away team travel with confidence. Not since the Sevilla game have they lost an away game, meaning Barcelona has taken points from seven away matches in a row.Barcelona won their last game, 2-0 versus Espanyol played at home. Before that one, a nice away victory 4-1 at Real Betis.
A new game in only three days for Barcelona, the La Liga home match versus Atlético Madrid. Busy days.
With an average of more than two away goals per game, Barcelona are regular goalscorers on their travels. Barcelona are defending well in their away games, having conceded only 11 times in 14 matches.
Head 2 Head
The most recent history between these sides is the Barcelona - Villarreal 2-0 played earlier this season. H2H stats regardless of arena (last ten matches): Villarreal 0 wins, 2 draws and Barcelona 8 victories.Top Goalscorers
  L. Messi 31 goals / 12 assists |  L. Suárez 18 goals / 5 assists |  O. Dembélé 8 goals / 4 assists |
Villarreal missing players
Barcelona missing players
| Villarreal | Barcelona | |||
| Total | Home | Statistic | Away | Total |
| 29 | 15 | Played | 14 | 29 |
| 34 | 20 | Scored | 31 | 75 |
| 39 | 20 | Conceded | 11 | 27 |
| 86% | 93% | Over 0.5 | 93% | 97% |
| 76% | 80% | Over 1.5 | 79% | 86% |
| 55% | 60% | Over 2.5 | 57% | 62% |
| 28% | 27% | Over 3.5 | 36% | 45% |
| 7% | 7% | Over 4.5 | 29% | 28% |
| 55% | 73% | Both teams to score | 57% | 59% |
| 28% | 13% | Clean Sheet | 43% | 41% |
| 31% | 20% | Failed To Score | 7% | 3% |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | D | P |
| 1 | Barcelona | 29 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 75 | 27 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 44 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 48 | 69 |
| 2 | Atlético Madrid | 29 | 17 | 8 | 4 | 43 | 19 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 7 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 12 | 24 | 59 |
| 3 | Real Madrid | 28 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 49 | 32 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 24 | 17 | 54 |
| 4 | Getafe | 29 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 36 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 13 | 2 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 46 |
| 5 | Deportivo Alavés | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 31 | 35 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 17 | 23 | -4 | 44 |
| 6 | Sevilla | 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 47 | 36 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 14 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 22 | 11 | 43 |
| 7 | Valencia | 28 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 30 | 23 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 40 |
| 8 | Athletic Club | 29 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 30 | 32 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -2 | 40 |
| 9 | Real Betis | 28 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 32 | 36 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 19 | 21 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 15 | -4 | 39 |
| 10 | Real Sociedad | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 36 |
| 11 | Leganés | 29 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 29 | 34 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 22 | -5 | 36 |
| 12 | Eibar | 28 | 8 | 11 | 9 | 36 | 38 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 21 | -2 | 35 |
| 13 | Girona | 29 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 32 | 39 | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 16 | -7 | 34 |
| 14 | Espanyol | 29 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 32 | 43 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 24 | -11 | 34 |
| 15 | Levante | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 38 | 49 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 24 | -11 | 31 |
| 16 | Villarreal | 29 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 34 | 39 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 19 | -5 | 29 |
| 17 | Real Valladolid | 28 | 7 | 8 | 13 | 23 | 39 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 20 | -16 | 29 |
| 18 | Celta de Vigo | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 39 | 49 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 28 | -10 | 28 |
| 19 | Rayo Vallecano | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 30 | 51 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 29 | 14 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 22 | -21 | 23 |
| 20 | Huesca | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 28 | 47 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 | -19 | 22 |
