The Submarine will be looking for their first home win of the season against the Catalan side (Sunday, 5:30pm CEST)
Villarreal welcome FC Barcelona to the Estadio de la Cerámica this Sunday, at 5:30pm CEST, in the game corresponding to Matchday 3 of the 2023/24 LaLiga EA Sports season. The match, which will be refereed by Hernández Hernández, who will be accompanied by Pizarro Gómez on VAR, is a golden opportunity for the Yellows to get their first home win of the season against one of the biggest teams in the competition.
Both sides are on a similar dynamic going into the clash. Neither team managed to start the league season with a win – Villarreal lost to Real Betis (1-2) and FC Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by Getafe – but they did manage to take three points from their last games against Mallorca (0-1) and Cádiz (2-0) respectively.
This Sunday’s game will see both sides aiming for a win to establish themselves at the top of the standings. To do so, Villarreal will have to beat a team who they have struggled against at home. The Submarine, despite not having been able to beat Barça in their last home games, know what it’s like to compete on equal terms with the giants, such as in the 2018/19 season, the 1-1 draw in the 2016/17 campaign or the 2-2 draw in 2015/16 in which the Yellows came close to winning the game. It is also worth noting that the Yellows side beat FC Barcelona recently, when in the 2021/22 season they emerged victorious from the Camp Nou (0-2) with goals from Alfonso Pedraza and Moi Gómez, which also secured qualification to the UEFA Conference League.
Barcelona, in sixth place with four points, have strengthened their squad this summer with the signings of Ilkay Gündogan, Íñigo Martínez, Oriol Romeu and Vitor Roque. On the other hand, on Sunday they will be without players such as Araujo, Pedri and Iñigo Martínez through injury and Raphinha through suspension.
