Preview: Villarreal vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Estadio de la Ceramica will play host to a fascinating La Liga contest on Sunday afternoon, as division leaders Barcelona take on third-placed Villarreal.

Top of the La Liga table, Barcelona have been the standout team in Spain once again this term, but Villarreal have also been excellent, with the Yellow Submarine third, eight points off the summit with two games in hand.

Match preview

Something has to give on Sunday - Villarreal have won their last six in La Liga, while Barcelona have been victorious in their last seven, with both teams in incredible domestic form heading towards the winter break in Spain's top flight.

The Yellow Submarine have actually lost their last two matches, going down 3-2 at home to Copenhagen in the Champions League before suffering a 2-1 loss to Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey, but their league game against Levante, scheduled for last weekend, had to be postponed after a torrential rain warning.

Marcelino's side have a record of 11 wins, two draws and two defeats from their 15 league matches this season, with 35 points leaving them third in the table, four points behind second-placed Real Madrid and eight from Barcelona, and they have two games in hand on both.

Villarreal have the best defensive record in La Liga this season, only conceding 13 times, and they will be taking on a Barcelona side that have been far from secure at the back across all competitions this term, which will give the hosts encouragement.

The Yellow Submarine have won two of their last three league matches against Barcelona, but they have not beaten the Catalan outfit on home soil since October 2007.

Barcelona, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 win over third-tier Guadalajara in the last-32 stage of the Copa del Rey.

The Catalan outfit have won each of their last six matches in all competitions, while they have been victorious in each of their last seven in La Liga, beating Elche, Celta Vigo, Athletic Bilbao, Alaves, Atletico Madrid, Real Betis and Osasuna.

Hansi Flick's side have a record of 14 wins, one draw and two defeats from their 17 league matches this season, with 43 points leaving them four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who have had a recent wobble.

As mentioned, Barcelona have been suspect defensively this term, but they have been excellent in the final third of the field, scoring 49 times in their 17 league matches, which is comfortably the strongest record in the division.

The Catalan side will open 2026 with the Catalan derby against Espanyol before heading to Saudi Arabia to take part in the Spanish Super Cup, with Athletic their opponents in the semi-finals of the tournament on January 7 ahead of a potential final.

Villarreal La Liga form:

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Villarreal form (all competitions):

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Barcelona La Liga form:

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Barcelona form (all competitions):

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Team News

Willy Kambwala (hamstring), Logan Costa (knee), Pau Cabanes (knee), Ramon Terrats (hamstring), Thomas Partey (muscle), Gerard Moreno (muscle), Santiago Mourino (muscle), Pape Gueye (AFCON), Ilias Akhomach (AFCON) are all set to miss out for Villarreal.

However, the Yellow Submarine are hopeful that experienced midfielder Dani Parejo will overcome a slight injury in order to feature in the starting side this weekend.

Due to the list of absentees, there are unlikely to be any surprises in the home side's XI on Sunday, with Ayoze Perez in line to join Georges Mikautadze in the final third of the field, while there will be a spot in a wide area for Tajon Buchanan.

As for Barcelona, Pedri has emerged as a major doubt for the match, with the Spaniard not training on Friday due to a calf strain, so it could be a midfield two of Eric Garcia and Frenkie de Jong for the clash with the Yellow Submarine.

Gavi (knee), Ronald Araujo (personal), Dani Olmo (shoulder) are also absent, while Flick has a couple of big decisions to make in the final third of the field.

Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski could be the two players to miss out on a spot in the starting side, with Fermin Lopez potentially operating as the number 10, while Ferran Torres is likely to be given the nod in the final third of the field.

Villarreal possible starting lineup:

Junior; Navarro, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona; Buchanan, Parejo, Comesana, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Cubarsi, Martin, Balde; De Jong, E Garcia; Yamal, Fermin, Raphinha; Torres

We say: Villarreal 2-3 Barcelona

This has all the makings of a fascinating clash, and it would not be a surprise to see a draw, but we just have a feeling that Barcelona's incredible attacking talent will allow them to end the game on the right side of a five-goal thriller on Sunday afternoon.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.