This Sunday, FC Barcelona face their final game before the Christmas break, and it's a big one. Villarreal are currently third in the league and have home advantage, so on paper this is one of the biggest tests that Hansi Flick and his men have faced this season.
But the Catalans go into the game in extraordinary form. Since losing the Clásico, they have strung together seven league wins in a row. And they were anything but easy wins, against opponents of the calibre of Atlético Madrid, Athletic Club and Betis. It means that no matter what happens at the Estadio de la Cerámica, Barça will be spending Christmas as league leaders. But the bigger the margin the better, with Real Madrid still breathing down their necks, and temporarily back to within one point after they beat Sevilla 2-0 on Saturday.
The game is an early 4.15pm CET kick-off and as usual, this is the place to go to find out what time that is where you are and who might be screening the game.
Head to head
Villarreal have established themselves as one of the strongest sides in Spain for the last two decades, but Barça's track record in their fixture leaves plenty of room for optimism. Incredibly, they have not lost at the Cerámica in any of their last 16 visits, all but four of those games ending in wins, including the last six.
The last two visits have produced no fewer than nine blaugrana goals. Two seasons ago, they won a crazy clash 4-3, in which Villarreal came back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2, but Barça hit back late to win it 4-3. And last season, a rampant Barça won 5-1, with braces from both Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski.
But that's not to say the Yellow Submarine are a team to be taken likely. Curiously, it's in the reverse fixture, when Barça have played at home, that things have gone wrong. Villarreal have won on three of their last four visits to Spotify Camp Nou or the Estadi Olimpic, including a 3-2 win last term.
Villarreal in strong form
The yellows have been having a brilliant campaign even by their own high standards. They're third in the table with a very solid 11-2-2 record. In fact, the 35 points that they have taken from their first 15 games is their highest tally ever at this stage of the competition. And the mere 13 goals that they have leaked is the best defensive record out of all teams in La Liga. What we have in store on Sunday is the best defence against the best attack, with Barça's 47 goals far and away the best in the championship.
Only Real and Atlético Madrid have beaten Villarreal in the league so far, and they're still unbeaten at the Cerámica. And like Barça. they're currently on an impressive winning spree, six games in their case, leaving them eight points adrift of the top of the table but with two games in hand. They're very much still involved in the title race.
In stark contrast, their Champions League campaign has been a disaster from start to finish. A single point mustered against Juventus is all they have to show from their first six games, and after they slumped to 3-2 defeat at home to Copenhagen last week, they already have no hope of making it into the knockout stages with two games still to play.
The Copa del Rey has gone no better. A 2-1 defeat at home to second division Racing Santander means that tournament is already over for them.
Team news
We already knew that none of Gavi, Ronald Araujo or Dani Olmo would be available for this one, but the situation has since worsened after Pedri went down with a calf strain, meaning the Canary Islander won't be there to marshall the midfield as he usually does with such brilliance. The good news is that Lewandowski is over his minor troubles and is ready to play.
Barça have it bad. But Villarreal, whose last league outing against Levante was cancelled due to the torrential rain, arguably have it worse. No fewer than eight are certainly out of the running, while two players as influential as Parejo and Gerard Moreno are serious doubts. In addition to the long-term absences of Logan Costa and Willy Kambwala the home side also have Santi Mouriño and Thomas Partey out through injury, while Ilias Akhomach and Pape Gueye are both away at the African Cup of Nations. Ans when things surely couldn't get any worse for coach Marcelino, they did. Both Juan Foyth and Sergi Cardona picked up injuries in the cup game midweek, and they're now out too.
Hansi says
The Barça coach had plenty to say in his pre-game press conference, including his take on Raphinha's non-inclusion in the FIFA World XI, praise for president Joan Laporta, and a very optimistic view of his near and long-term future at the club.