A top four clash to savour occurs as top of the table Barcelona travel to El Madrigal to face fourth place Villarreal on match day 30.
Both teams enter the match after midweek European ties as both flew the Spanish flag into the last eight of their respective competitions.
Barcelona faced Arsenal in the Champions League at home and did away with a brave Gunners side thanks to goals from each of their treasured forward triumvirate Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.
Villarreal had to work harder for their place in the quarter finals as they traveled to Germany to face Bayer Leverkusen and moved into the next round thanks to a nil-all draw against the Bundesliga side.
What will likely have a big influence on the match is the time between games for these sides, as Barca played at home on Wednesday while Villarreal travelled away on Thursday putting the home time at a severe disadvantage.
The Yellow Submarine are looking to bounce back from consecutive league defeats but that will be quite the tough ask against the league’s top side.
Key Battle: Denis Suarez vs his former and, likely, future club
When Denis Suarez signed for Villarreal from Barcelona in the summer he did so on a contract which has a very well publicised buy-back clause.
Rumours have surrounded the Spanish youth international that he will return to the Camp Nou at the end of the season and a dominant performance in this match will go a long way to securing that move.
For Villarreal to win they need Suarez to perform. If he has an off day, they stand little chance of bringing down the Catalan juggernaut.
If the 22-year-old can keep his mind focused on the game with all the emotions he must be having about both clubs then he could just lead his team to victory. Lose focus, and while it may not affect his future transfer which appears set in stone, it will be to the detriment of his current team.
Team News
Villarreal have no new injury troubles but will be without first teamers Mateo Musacchio, Jaume Costa and Jonathon Dos Santos who remain on the sideline. Despite being the home side Marcelino will likely opt for his preferred defensive XI that he likes to use away from El Madrigal which will mean a third successive start for the midfield pivot pairing of Bruno and Tomas Pina.
Villarreal Predicted Starting XI (4-4-2): Areola; Mario, Bonera, Ruiz, Bailly; Rukavina, Pina, Bruno, Suarez; Bakambu, Soldado
There should be little surprises in Luis Enrique’s side as they chase a tenth consecutive win in all competitions. The coach will be looking to his first choice XI to get by the home side and put the onus even further on second placed Atletico Madrid to chase his side down.
Barcelona Predicted Starting XI (4-3-3): Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Messi, Suarez, Neymar
Head-To-Head
To the surprise of no one Barcelona hold the advantage in this tie with a 20-7-8 record over 35 matches.
Previous Meeting
On Jornada 11 these two sides met at the Camp Nou in a match that was not nearly as one-sided as the scoreline says. Barcelona were victorious 3-0 on the day thanks to two goals from Neymar, one of which is still arguably goal of the season, and one from Luis Suarez from the penalty spot.
Villarreal defended admirably that day, as they will have to in this meeting, and held the home side out for an hour before the Brazilian broke the deadlock.
Prediction
Villarreal need to halt their form slump while Barcelona need to keep theirs going. Even the staunchest of Yellow Submarine supporters could not logically predict a home win in this tie and while they may keep their visitors out for a long period, as they did earlier in the season, Barcelona will once again be too much.
Villarreal 0 Barcelona 2
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