Villarreal vs Barcelona prediction: SPAIN: LaLiga betting tips on match 2024-09-21 16:30.
[p]With no European football for the first time since 2019/20, Villarreal can place all their focus on their league campaign, where they remain unbeaten after five La Liga matches (W3, D2). Ayoze PĂ©rez scored a late goal against Mallorca in the last round to secure victory, and late goals have been a running theme this season, as they also needed a stoppage time penalty to win 4-3 in their last home match.[/p]
[p]Coach Marcelino wouldnât mind another late show to take something from this game against Barcelona, especially as their last meeting was an eight-goal thriller in which the Yellow Submarine scored twice in stoppage time to claim a 5-3 win. That gives the hosts a chance to post consecutive H2H league wins for the first time since March 2008, a sequence of three victories which included one at this venue in October 2007, the last time they won a home top-flight H2H![/p]
[p]A red card to Eric GarcĂa after just eleven minutes in Thursdayâs UEFA Champions League clash with Monaco played its part in a 2-1 defeat against the French side. Coach Hansi Flick urged his side âto come back strongerâ, and while continental action now takes a back seat until October, the Catalans will focus on La Liga, where they have started the season with five straight wins. The last two of those have certainly been impressive, with Barça smashing in 11 goals.[/p]
[p]That perfect start gives the visitors a four-point lead ahead of this round, and with Villarreal one of a four-team chasing pack starting the round on 11 points, Barcelona wonât want to slacken their grip at the top. A flurry of goals will certainly help them in their quest to maintain their cushion, and having scored 2+ goals in each of their last seven league trips, they look good value to do just that.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: In this fixture last season, Ălex Baena assisted Villarrealâs opening goal and scored their third to see them recover from 2-0 down to 3-2 up. Lamine Yamal became the second youngest scorer of all time in the Champions League with his strike against Monaco in midweek, and he has contributed to at least one goal in each of Barcelonaâs competitive matches this season (G4, A4).[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Seven of the last nine league H2Hs at this venue saw both teams score.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Sridhar B[/i][/p]