FC Barcelona (1st, 61pts) vs Villarreal CF (3rd, 51pts)
Competition/Round: 2025-26 La Liga, Matchday 26
Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Gavi, Andreas Christensen, Gerard Martín, Frenkie de Jong (out)
Villarreal Outs & Doubts: Logan Costa, Willy Kambwala, Juan Foyth (out), Gerard Moreno (doubt)
Barcelona Form Guide: WWLLW
Villarreal Form Guide: DWLWW
Date/Time: Saturday, February 28, 2026, 4.15pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Referee: Isidro Díaz de Mera Escuderos
VAR: Mario Melero López
How to watch on TV: ESPN Deportes (USA), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar (Spain), others
How to watch online: ESPN+ (USA), LaLigaTV (UK), FanCode (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Following an important win over Levante to reclaim top spot in the table and a full week of rest and training, Barcelona are back in action for a massive La Liga game against third-place Villarreal at the Greatest Stadium on Earth on Saturday afternoon.
Barça come into this one looking for all three points to ensure they don’t give away their one-point lead at the top of the standings just one week after reclaiming it, and getting a big win to spend seven more days in first place against an opponent as good as Villarreal would be a major confidence boost to a team still looking to bounce back from two awful recent losses.
The Catalans showed some positive signs last week with a more mature and professional performance and a sound, slightly less risk defensive structure, but their backline will be severely tested by one of the most dangerous and dynamic attacks in the league.
Villarreal were at one point a serious title contender before a poor run of results in January effectively ended their championship hopes, but they are still in a very strong position to secure a Top 3 finish and a spot in the Champions League next season. February has been much better for the Yellow Submarine, who’ve won three of four and look a lot more like the team that had such a strong first half of the season.
The first meeting between these two was the last game of 2025, and it was quite a crazy game in which Barça made one horrible mistake after another at the back in the first 30 minutes and could have easily conceded three or four times if not for a combination of bad finishing by Villarreal, some timely offside traps, and a few sensational stops by Joan Garcia.
Barça eventually improved in the second half and secured a crucial 2-0 win on the road, but even Hansi Flick in his pre-match press conference said his team cannot expect to escape with a victory again if they repeat the same mistakes we saw at La Cerámica two months ago.
Losing possession in bad positions had been one of Barça’s biggest problems and led to the two bad defeats against Atlético Madrid and Girona, but the ball control was at a much higher level against Levante, which led to a more dynamic attack and fewer opportunities for the opposition to counter.
That strategy needs to be employed at an ever better rate against Villarreal, who will play the same way as they always do: a tight and incredibly well-organized 4-4-2 shape that can press high but also drop into a low block and counter-attack with incredible pace and precision. They don’t need tons of possession to create danger and know exactly what to do with the ball, and have the right pieces to threaten a Barça defense that kept a clean sheet last week but still feels vulnerable.
A very good performance and a convincing win are always things to strive for when you’re a team of Barça’s caliber, but the three points here are just as important, if not more. Beating Villarreal would be a show of strength to remain in first place and open up a temporary four-point gap for a couple of days before Real Madrid play on Monday, and it would be clear proof that Barça remain favorites for the title and are capable of beating the very best teams in the league.
Let’s dance.
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Joan; Kounde, Cubarsí, Eric, Cancelo; Bernal, Pedri; Yamal, Fermín, Raphinha; Ferran
Villarreal (4-4-2): Júnior; Mouriño, Navarro, Veiga, Cardona; Comesaña, Gueye, Parejo, Moleiro; Pépé, Ayoze
PREDICTION
Villarreal are in good form and are an awful matchup for Barça with the way they defend and counter-attack, but I’m still trusting Flick’s troops to get the job done in a very exciting game: 3-2 to the home team.