Two clubs in the top half of the Liga BBVA table will do battle today in a league match between Villarreal and Barcelona The first-division clash scheduled for 1 p.m. ET will be held at the Estadio El Madrigal in Villarreal and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on beIN Sports.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique had this to offer ahead of today's league encounter (via Inside Spanish Football): "Villarreal are opponents we know well and they're one of the most potent teams in La Liga. They had a very good preseason in terms of how they've played and their results. They also have a very good manager. They're going to demand a lot from us in this game, but we're going there well prepared."
"Every game is a test," he added. "Any team that has a new manager needs a little time to settle, which I have to say is something I haven't asked for. This game will be a good test for us and you can take it as a given, we'll be looking to win there."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Villarreal's Bruno was instrumental in the club's Week 1 victory. The 30-year-old controlled the tempo of the match, completing 66 passes with an 87.9 percent success rate and completed four take-ons.
Villarreal's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Asenjo; Costa, Paulista, Musacchio, Rukavina; Cani, Bruno, Trigueros; Cheryshev, Uche, Santos
Barcelona's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Bravo; Alba, Mathieu, Bartra, Alves; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Munir, Messi, Rafinha
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (lineups and statistics via WhoScored).
Standings
| Rnk | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | +/- | Pts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valencia CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 2 | Celta de Vigo | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 3 | Sevilla FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 4 | Atlético Madrid | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||
| 5 | FC Barcelona | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 6 | Athletic Club | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 7 | Real Madrid CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 7 | Villarreal CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 9 | Granada CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 10 | Eibar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 11 | Getafe CF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 | |||
| 12 | Málaga CF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 | |||
| 13 | Rayo Vallecano | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 14 | RCD Espanyol | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 | |||
| 15 | UD Almería | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 | |||
| 16 | Córdoba CF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 | |||
| 17 | Deportivo La Coruña | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 | |||
| 18 | Real Sociedad | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | |||
| 19 | Elche CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 | |||
| 20 | Levante UD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
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