Villarreal-day minus two

A bright and sunny Thursday morning welcomed FC Barcelona as they stepped onto the practice field ahead of Saturday’s vital matchup versus Villarreal. Kickoff at Camp Nou is set for 6:30 PM CET and will be televised worldwide. For Barça, it’s their third to last game of the league season, and although they lead the standings based on goal differential, second-placed Real Madrid still have a game in hand that could tip the balance in their favour even if FC Barcelona win out.

Meetings with Villarreal are always high pressure games. The two sides squared off earlier this season at Villarreal and played to a draw.

FC Barcelona’s front three strike force of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar come into the game looking to score their 100th collective goal this season. The game will also be a reencounter with former Barça player Jonathan Dos Santos, who will be wearing Villarreal’s yellow shirt at Camp Nou for the third straight season.

At Thursday’s training session, all available first team players took part, plus Álex Carbonell and Carles Aleñá from Barça B. Barça train again on Friday morning, after which manager Luis Enrique will appear before the press at his regular pregame news conference.