Barcelona – Villarreal

Motivated Villarreal can put up a fight against Barcelona’s reserves

Barcelona take on Villarreal at the Camp Nou in the 38th round of La Liga. The match is very important for the visitors. The fate of next year's European competitions is in fact at stake. If the Submarine do not win, everything will depend on Athletic's match against Sevilla. Barcelona have already finished the season ahead of schedule, second place will not be taken away by anyone. The Catalans have had a decent run at the end of the season. The team has won three games in a row. In the last round, they objectively lacked motivation in the game against Getafe. In a very boring encounter with almost no chances, the result was a draw. In the final matchday, Xavi can give the leaders an extra rest. Ansu Fati is certain to feature from the opening minutes. There could be a greater bias towards young performers. Villarreal have been hampered by an emotional Champions League campaign this season. It lacked the strength to consistently pick up points in La Liga at the level of a top-four contender. Just another slump was linked with the Eurocup semi-finals. Villarreal lost to Alaves. In the last round, they failed to take at least a point at home against Real Sociedad. It was a straight match for a place in the Europa League. Now the maximum for Emery's team is the Conference League. The team is definitely determined to fight for the European Cup. If they reach the Conference League, the Submarine will be the main favourite for the whole competition. The condition of leading scorer Moreno has also had an impact on Villarreal's slump. The player will not play against Barcelona. He has played only 20 games this season, significantly reducing his side's attacking potential. Also, the main defender Voigt will not be at the Camp Nou. The bookmakers are giving a cosmic base total of 3.5 goals for this game, expecting very open football. It makes sense to consider a few arguments against. Barcelona are unimpressive without motivation, plus there could be a significant rotation. Villarreal need to play to win, but only if Athletic beat Sevilla in the parallel meeting. In any other case, a draw would be enough, which makes a big difference. You can recall the clashes with Liverpool, Juventus and Bayern. The team can competently focus on defence. Matches for such a high total are a rarity for the Submarine. Barcelona have played a lot of unsuccessful matches this season. Narrow defeats have been recorded against outsiders. A minimal victory for the visitors does not look like a big sensation at the Camp Nou.