Barcelona vs Villarreal prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2025-05-17 17:00.
[p]Barcelona wrapped up the La Liga title in midweek, winning 2-0 away to Catalan rivals Espanyol to secure a 28th Spanish top-flight crown. With the title won and effectively nothing left to play for, it remains to be seen how Barcelona react against Villarreal, but with the newly-crowned champions returning to their temporary home where they’ll receive the trophy at full-time, the Estadi OlĂmpic LluĂs Companys is sure to be in a celebratory mood.[/p]
[p]The Barcelona faithful will certainly be expecting to see the champions win on their homecoming having triumphed in nine of their ten home league games so far in 2025 (D1). It’s hard not to see that record extending against a Villarreal side Barça have dominated in recent history, losing just two of the last 32 H2Hs (W25, D5), although it is worth noting that both of those defeats came across the last three H2Hs they hosted. [/p]
[p]Villarreal famously won 5-3 on this ground last season, and a repeat result here would confirm their spot in the top five. The visitors will certainly be hoping Barcelona have a hangover from Thursday night’s title delirium and Friday night’s open-top bus parade, but they’ve been doing a good enough job of trying to secure their Champions League status for next season without any assistance, winning their last four La Liga games. [/p]
[p]The Yellow Submarine haven’t won five successive top-flight games since January 2016, but five wins from their last seven La Liga road trips (L2) suggest that wait could end here. Illustrious opposition will be the biggest hurdle to overcome in pursuit of a slice of history as Villarreal haven’t beaten a side currently above them this season (D3, L4), while boss Marcelino has lost a career-high 19 managerial H2Hs against Barcelona (W4, D7).[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski has netted five goals in as many La Liga H2Hs against Villarreal, with four of those goals arriving before half-time. A target of Barcelona’s many years ago, Villarreal’s Nicolas PĂ©pĂ© has found his feet with two goals in the last three La Liga rounds – he also assisted their only goal in a 5-1 defeat in the reverse. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Barcelona have had a league-high 228 shots on target in La Liga this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]