LaLiga: Barcelona vs Villarreal preview

LaLiga: Barcelona vs Villarreal preview
Barcelona will try to put pressure on rivals Real Madrid with a victory over Villarreal at Camp Nou on Saturday as the Blancos play a couple of hours later at already relegated Granada. Villarreal clinched a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture in January and they also avoided defeat in last season's home game against Barcelona. Before those two draws, Barcelona had seven consecutive wins over Villarreal, who have not won a match at Camp Nou since 2008. Barcelona don't have to worry about the Champions League any more and that could be a great advantage over rivals Real Madrid, who will most likely advance to the final of Europe's top club competition. Barcelona have won their last three matches after the Champions League exit, scoring no less than thirteen goals in the process. Aleix Vidal and Rafinha are long-term absentees due to injuries, so the only concern for head coach Luis Enrique remains defender Jeremy Mathieu, who could recover in time to be in the squad for Saturday's game. Villarreal can still hope to leapfrog Sevilla in fourth place, but they can also finish outside of the top six as seventh-placed Real Sociedad are just two points behind them with three games left in the season. Villarreal have won their last three league matches, including an unexpected 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid last week. Mateo Musacchio and Jaume Costa will return into the starting eleven after having served their suspension, but Bruno Soriano might miss out due to a knee injury. Probable line-ups: Barcelona: Ter Stegen - Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba - Rakitic, Busquets, Iniesta - Messi, Suarez, Neymar Villarreal: Fernandez - Mario, Gonzalez, Musacchio, Costa - Santos, Trigueros, B. Soriano, R. Soriano - Soldado, Bakambu My prediction: Barcelona to win 2-1. Here are the odds for the match at Bet365: Barcelona win - 1.14 Draw - 8.50 Villarreal win - 17.00
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