We have four matches to look forward to in the Spanish La Liga on Sunday the 5th of July. One of which features the defending champions Barcelona as they travel to the Estadio de la Cerámica to play Villarreal.
The hosts have 54 points to their name and still have a chance of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League. Barcelona are in second place with 70 points and are hoping to chase down Real Madrid who are currently top of the table.
Villarreal come into the game having recorded a good 2-0 win at Real Betis on Wednesday night. That victory means Villarreal are undefeated in their last 6 La Liga matches, all of which have been played following the suspension of the league in Spain. It has been a fantastic return to form for Villarreal who suffered 3 straight defeats prior to the postponement of La Liga.
Villarreal have won 5 of their last 6 matches, with wins coming over Real Mallorca and Valencia at home plus Celta Vigo, Granada and Real Betis away. In only one of those 6 games have Villarreal seen over 2.5 goals scored and they have kept a clean sheet in all but one of them.
Trends show Villarreal are undefeated in 5 of their last 6 home La Liga matches. They have managed to score 2 or more goals in 4 of those 6 games.
Barcelona have slipped into second place since the resumption of La Liga and desperately need to win this game to maintain any realistic hope of retaining their title. They played Atletico Madrid at home on Tuesday night and despite twice taking the lead in the game Barcelona could not hold on for the victory and the match ended 2-2.
That was the second game in succession where Barcelona have been held to a draw. The same pattern occurred in the 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo, with Barcelona taking the lead twice in the match only for the game to end level.
Nonetheless, Barcelona remain difficult to beat and they are undefeated in their last 7 La Liga games. In fact, Barcelona have lost only one of their last 12 league games and that came at title challengers Real Madrid. However, they have managed to win only one of their last 4 La Liga matches and that could prove costly come the end of the campaign.
Away form shows Barcelona have been struggling to pick up victories and they have won only 2 of the last 8 league games on the road.
Team news and Villarreal are without both Ramiro Funes Mori and Ramiro Guerra who are not expected to play again this season. Sofian Chakla and Vicente Iborra are both doubtful.
Barcelona travel without a trio of injured players as Frenkie De Jong, Jean-Clair Todibo and Ousmane Dembélé all miss out. Every other player should be fit and available.
This has the makings of being another tough night for Barcelona at a venue in which they have won only once in their last 4 attempts. Villarreal also want to win to enhance their chances of qualifying for the Champions League but this one could end level with both teams scoring.