Barcelona will look to continue its domination against Villarreal on Sunday, heading to El Madrigal with seven wins from the last eight head-to-head meetings between the two sides.
Can Robert Lewandowski finally get off the mark for the 2023-24 campaign? Bookmaker William Hill offers odds at 2.10 for the Poland superstar to net his first goal of the season on Sunday. The odds are at 2.90 for him to score the first or last goal in the match.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 25th, 6:00 P.M. (EST)
Lewandowski has failed to score in his first two games of a league season for the first time since 2012-13, but Barcelona has still enjoyed a decent start to the campaign, collecting four points in two games. The team has registered back-to-back clean sheets and having a good defensive record always sets you up nicely for success.
Barca was extremely strong at the back throughout the title-winning campaign last season, and the team’s run to a 27th Spanish championship included shutouts in both meetings with Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine has massively struggled in this fixture, winning only one of the last 30 clashes against Barcelona.
Barcelona’s newest star, Lamine Yamal, had only just celebrated his first birthday when Villarreal’s struggles in this fixture started back in 2008. The 16-year-old showed incredible maturity and quality for his age in his first La Liga start in last week’s 2-0 victory over Cadiz, and he looks set for another start in Sunday’s match-up. Villarreal will want to keep Lewandowski’s dry spell going, but Quique Setien’s men must also have a close eye on Yamal.
Setien’s team has had a mixed start to the season. The team beat Mallorca 1-0 away from home last Friday, but the season opener ended in tears for the Villarreal faithful as Real Betis shocked El Madrigal with a 95th-minute winner. Having lost just two of the past 10 home outings, Villarreal will fancy its chances of doing better this time around, although it’s going to be a very difficult match.
The home side needs to deliver a top-notch defensive performance and hope that Gerard Moreno and the rest of the troops up front can put a dent into Barcelona’s superb defensive record. Moreno has gone through a couple of injury-riddled campaigns and must be desperate to get back to his best. After opening his account for the season versus Mallorca, the two-time Zarra Trophy winner should be in great spirits ahead of Sunday’s big match.
