Villarreal receives a euphoric Barça drowned
The blaugranas want to dedicate a victory that would put Madrid to 11 points to the ‘Pichón’ Marcos Alonso
BARCELONA, 11 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Villarreal CF receives FC Barcelona this Sunday at the Estadio de la Cerámica (9:00 p.m.), on matchday 21 of LaLiga Santander, with the need for the locals to score again if they want to recover the lost places and, yes, they must do so against a Barça that is a solid leader, that arrives euphoric and that seeks to continue expanding the distance with its rivals.
The defeat in Elche against the bottom team (3-1) hurt a Villarreal team that had already lost at home to Rayo Vallecano (0-1). Two results that made the ‘Yellow Submarine’ plummet down the table, while Barça took advantage of those same days to beat Betis and Sevilla.
As a result, Xavi Hernández’s team leads LaLiga Santander with an 8-point margin over Real Madrid. The whites, due to the Club World Cup, will not recover this day until Wednesday, so the ‘culer’ objective is to put the eternal rival at a virtual distance of 11 points.
In contrast, Villarreal fell to seventh place, although it is still 1 point behind fifth place and 4 behind Atlético de Madrid that defends fourth, the last one that gives access to the next Champions League. The panorama does not look so bad for Villarreal if the ‘Submarino’ manages to straighten the course.
Quique Setién, now captain of the ‘groguets’, is measured against his former team, a Barça that he flattered in the previous one by reiterating that his style of play is to his liking. Of course, he denied that it was a special game for him and made it clear that his objective is to be able to offer a game that cancels out that of the Catalans, seeing himself motivated to win the leader.
It can be an attractive game, close, fighting for possession and attacking on both sides. That as long as both Setién and Xavi are faithful to their ideas and they are good at night. At the moment, in the first round, with Unai Emery on the ‘groguet’ bench, Barça gave an account of Villarreal (3-0) with a double from Robert Lewandowski and a goal from Ansu Fati.
Now, Setién intends to change things. If he looks back, he will make sure that Barça won 3-1 last year, and 2-1 and 4-1 the two previous seasons. So Villarreal seeks to win once and for all against the Blaugrana team at La Cerámica, now renewed and eager to join that party. And more coming the rival as leader.
Despite the long-term absences of Nicolás Jackson, Giovani Lo Celso and Alfonso Pedraza, Villarreal are confident that they will be able to see Gerard Moreno in the starting eleven, a goal and life insurance, despite training outside of your classmates this week. Yes, the recovered Pau Torres would return to defense, after two days without playing –coinciding with the two defeats–.
At Barça, Xavi has lost his captain Sergio Busquets, who will be out for about two weeks after his injury against Sevilla, plus that of Ousmane Dembélé. Two important casualties, which make Juvenil Ángel Alarcón enter the list.
Marcos Alonso will also be at Villarreal, after losing his father this week, the former Barça and Atlético de Madrid soccer player among others. Undoubtedly, dedicating the victory to ‘Pichón’ is in the mind of his son and of everyone in the Blaugrana expedition.
DATASHEET.
–POSSIBLE ALIGNMENTS.
VILLARREAL CF: Queen; Foyth, Albiol, Pau Torres, Moreno; Couple, Baena, Capoue; Chukwueze, Gerard Moreno and Yeremi Pino.
FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Koundé, Araujo, Christensen, Jordi Alba; De Jong, Pedri, Gavi; Raphinha, Lewandowski and Ansu Fati.
–REFEREE: Hernández Hernández (C. Las Palmas).
–STADIUM: Ceramics Stadium.
–TIME: 9:00 p.m./Movistar LaLiga.