Defending La Liga champions Barcelona will fight it out against Villarreal in their sixth fixture of this year's domestic campaign at Camp Nou on September 24.
The Catalan club, after facing a shocking defeat at the hands of Granada last weekend, will look forward to bounce back to winning ways while the Yellow Submarines will want to register their third back-to-back victory in this year's edition of the Spanish domestic tournament.
Preview, Prediction and Schedule
The Blaugranas have been facing a tough time this season. They are currently placed eighth on the table after suffering two defeats from the five matches they have played.
Their defence line looks clueless as they have conceded nine goals this season. In their last fixture against Granada they were handed a shocking defeat and the record in away games this season has been very poor.
The Catalan club have managed to get one point from the three away games they have played this season. Ernesto Valverde needs to get his team on the right track otherwise there are chances that he will be sacked.
Argentine star Lionel Messi will probably play his first full match for Barcelona against Villarreal. This will be a huge confidence booster for the Catalan club who are continuously drifting away from the top spot of the table. The Catalan club will look forward to getting back to winning ways before they face Getafe on Saturday in an away fixture.
On the other hand, Villarreal will be looking forward to register their first away victory against Barcelona in the league after a gap of 11 years.
The Yellow Submarines started the season on a low after drawing the first fixture with Granada and then losing the second one to Levante. They got a huge confidence booster after they held Real Madrid at home and since then they have won two back-to-back matches against Leganes and Real Valladolid respectively.
After finishing at the 14th position last season, Villarreal will look forward to a top-10 finish this time around. Gerard Moreno has been in superb form for Villarreal this season and the Yellow Submarines will look forward to him goals from him against Barcelona at the iconic Camp Nou.
The Catalan club will get a huge boost if Messi features from the start of the match and they will probably have an upper hand over their visiting opponents.
But looking at the condition of the Barcelona defence and the Villarreal offence it will be unfair to say that the Yellow Submarines do not stand a chance. Villarreal can actually produce an upset and add to the misery of the defending champions.
The Barcelona-Villarreal match will start at 9 PM local time on September 24 and 12.30 AM according to IST on September 25.
Live Streaming: How and where to watch in India
The match will not be telecasted in India as Sony Sports network did not get the broadcasting rights. The fixture will be streamed live on the official La Liga page on Facebook.
