Barcelona will be locking horns with Villarreal on Matchday 33 of La Liga Santander at the Estadio de la Ceramica stadium. The Catalans are seeking to close the gap on Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, who are in touching arm’s length of Barcelona.
Ronald Koeman’s side were successful in registering a 5-2 victory against Getafe at home yesterday. However, this battle with Villarreal will be much more uphill for Barcelona, especially because it is away from home. With Barcelona still alive in the Primera Division, it will be criminal of the Catalan side to drop points at this point of the campaign.
The Dutch gaffer will have nearly the entire side at his disposal except for a handful of players. Neto, Ansu Fati, Martin Braithwaite, Philippe Coutinho, and Ousmane Dembele are not expected to be a part of proceedings altogether. Here’s how Barcelona could take to the field on Sunday evening –
5-3-2 Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Villarreal
Defense
Marc Andre Ter Stegen will be taking command in goal for the Catalans. The goalie has only managed 10 clean sheets this season and will be wanting to add to that tally.
Oscar Mingueza will continue to hold his position in the backline of Barcelona despite a lackluster performance against Getafe. Gerard Pique will be in charge of the defensive line with all the countless years of experience under his belt. Clement Lenglet will be the third central defender. The Frenchman made another defensive error against Getafe as he scored an own goal in the early minutes of the match.
Sergino Dest and Jordi Alba will be starting at the wing-back positions on the right and left wings respectively.
Midfield
Ronald Koeman has entrusted the trio of Sergio Busquets, Pedri, and Frenkie de Jong, all season long and there is no reason as to why he will ditch them for a fixture of this magnitude. Pedri and de Jong will be shouldering the responsibility of taking charge of things in the center of the park against a Villarreal side that can be hard to break down at times.
The duo certainly possesses the ability to stretch the hosts out wide in order to pave way for the dangerous runs of Messi and Griezmann. Moriba, Puig, and Pjanic can all be brought on by Koeman depending on the demands of the situation.
Attack
Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann will be starting in Barcelona’s attack. Lionel Messi has been in breathtaking form since the turn of the year and is heading in the right direction towards lifting another Golden Boot trophy. The Argentine scored twice against Getafe and even assisted a goal. Griezmann too was amongst the goals and scored from the penalty spot in the 93rd minute of the match. A focused and dedicated approach from the Catalans in the last few exchanges of La Liga Santander will ensure that they lift the title when the season comes to a close.
5-3-2 Barcelona Predicted Line-Up Against Villarreal
