A weekend of La Liga football succeeded the final international break of the season and there’s more action during the week. Villarreal host Barcelona on Tuesday night in a game that will have implications at both ends of the table.

STATS

• Villarreal have had an appalling season so far and are still looking over their shoulders just above the relegation zone. Their form in the league since August has been shocking but they are still in the Europa League after being Zenit over two legs in the last 16. They have just two wins in their last five league matches and lost a two-goal lead last time out as they were beaten 3-2 by Celta Vigo.
• Barcelona are also still in Europe and look to have wrapped up the league title as they are a staggering 10 points clear of Atletico with nine games remaining. They have won each of their last six in the league and must prepare for a Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United. The Spanish giants achieved a derby day victory in their last game, beating Espanyol 2-0.
• Karl Toko Ekambi has picked up his form in the last few weeks and is Villarreal’s leading scorer this term with seven league goals and 15 in all competitions.
• Lionel Messi is having yet another superhuman campaign and not only is he miles ahead in the lead for the Golden Boot with 31 goals but he also has 12 assists.

HEAD TO HEAD

Barcelona don’t tend to find it too hard when facing Villarreal as they have a phenomenal record against them in recent years. The last time Villarreal overcame the Catalans was in 2008 and in the 19 league meetings since, Barca have won 14 of them. They have won each of the last four, all by a margin of two or more goals and the match between the sides earlier in the season finished 2-0 to the league leaders.

VILLARREAL NEWS

A draw or a loss could see Villarreal overtaken by 18^th-place Celta Vigo, leaving them in the drop zone. They will be without Jaume Costa and Manu Trigueros while Javi Fuegos, Toko Ekambi and Gerard Moreno are all doubtful.

Latest matches: Villarreal CF

30.03.2019	LaLi	Celta de Vigo	Villarreal CF	3:2	L
17.03.2019	LaLi	Villarreal CF	Rayo Vallecano	3:1	W
14.03.2019	UEFA	Villarreal CF	Zenit St Petersburg	2:1	W
10.03.2019	LaLi	Levante UD	Villarreal CF	0:2	W
07.03.2019	UEFA	Zenit St Petersburg	Villarreal CF	1:3	W

BARCELONA NEWS

Another win for Barcelona would see them edge even closer to another La Liga title and they boast an almost-full bill of health. Only Rafinha and Ousmane Dembele miss out through injury.

Latest matches: FC Barcelona

30.03.2019	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Espanyol Barcelona	2:0	W
17.03.2019	LaLi	Betis Sevilla	FC Barcelona	1:4	W
13.03.2019	UEFA	FC Barcelona	Olympique Lyon	5:1	W
09.03.2019	LaLi	FC Barcelona	Rayo Vallecano	3:1	W
02.03.2019	LaLi	Real Madrid	FC Barcelona	0:1	W

SUMMARY

Barcelona will have one eye on the upcoming Champions League tie but that won’t stop them from comfortably beating an in-trouble Villarreal side on Tuesday night. As has happened in the last four meetings, I expect Barcelona to win with a -1 handicap against the home side who won’t find it easy to score, that may mean Barca to win to nil provides good value.