LA LIGA PREVIEW: BARCELONA VS CADIZ

The Blaugrana are back in La Liga action tonight as they host a relegation threatened Cadiz at the Camp Nou.

Barça will seek to resume their immaculate form in La Liga and restore the eight point lead at the top of the table. It's that time of the season when fatigue and injuries begin to constitute nuisance but at the same time, the perfect opportunity for the team to show why they deserve the La Liga title this season. The schedule has become even more hectic, but that will be no excuse for not picking up 3 points against their Andalusian visitors.

Even though they're battling to stay up, as they usually do, Cadiz have proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the big sides time and again. Once a bogey team for their hosts, they succumbed to a 0-4 defeat in Andalusia earlier in the season against their hosts, ending what was a remarkable run of results against the Catalans. Having picked up all three points at the Camp Nou last term, they should have a bit of confidence going into this game, even though they've lost their last 2 away games.

INTERESTING STATS

Barcelona have won four out of the last eight matches against Cadiz. While the visitors have twice during this period.

The Catalan giants have the best defensive record in the league. They have only conceded seven goals in 21 matches.

Barcelona lost their last home game against Cadiz 1-0 in April last year. That was their only loss in their last 14 home games against Sergio Gonzalez Soriano’s team.

Barcelona have not lost in their last 12 league matches.

Cadiz have lost their last two away games in the league.

Last five meetings (all in La Liga)

2020-12-05 Cádiz 2-1 Barça

2021-02-21 Barça 1-1 Cádiz

2021-09-23 Cádiz 0-0 Barça

2022-04-18 Barça 0-1 Cádiz

2022-09-10 Cadiz 0-4 Barça

TEAM NEWS

Barcelona

Pedri joins Ousmane Dembele in the infirmary after sustaining a hamstring injury midweek. Sergio Busquets however, has been discharged and has returned to the squad, although he is not tipped to start. He's been missed. Ronald Araujo will also sit this one out due to suspension.

Xavi has declared that there will be rotations, so it might be a bit of a challenge guessing the starting XI.

Marc Andre TerStegen will of course be in goal. Andreas Christensen and Alejandro Balde will return to the lineup and complete the backline with probably Koundé and Alonso. Eric Garcia remains an option.

Sergi Roberto could be in for Koundé at RB or for Pedri in Midfield. Pedri's injury gives way to Pablo Torre, the wonderkid from Racing Santander who is deserving of more minutes and should get them tonight.

Ansu Fati is also tipped to start after a decent Cameo midweek. Gavi, DeJong, Kessie, Raphinha and Lewandowski are all expected to rounded up the starting XI. Ferran Torres still awaits his first start this year.

CADIZ

Sergio Gonzalez has a host of absentees for this clash as well, and that includes Joseba Zaldua, Jon Ander Garrido, Jose Mari (all injured). Victor Chust, Juan Cala, Alvaro Negredo and David Gil remain doubtful. 

The visitors will also be without the services of Alfonso Espino due to the yellow card that he picked up in the two-goal success over Girona last time out. Santiago Arzamendia is will replace Espino. 

Sergio will go ahead with the 4-4-2 formation. Jeremias Ledesma will start between the sticks. Isaac Carcelen, Luis Hernandez, Rafael Jimenez Jarque, and Arzamendia will be the back four in front of him.

Theo Bongonda, Gonzalo Escalante, Ruben Alcaraz, and Brian Ocampo will anchor the midfield, Roger Marti and Sergi Guardiola will pair up in attack.

Where and when are Barcelona vs Cadiz playing?

Location: Barcelona, Spain

Stadium: Camp Nou

Kick-off Time: Sunday 19 February: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT  21:00 🇳🇬

Referee: Pablo Gonzalez Fuertes

VAR: Jose Luis Gonzalez Gonzalez.

It'll be a daunting task for Cadiz to come to Camp Nou at this moment and get anything out of the game. Barcelona,one of the best teams in Europe right now, should be able to get the job done, whether or not there are rotations.

LA LIGA PREVIEW: VILLARREAL VS BARCELONA

Can the Yellow Submarines attack unseen as the Catalan giants step into enemy territory?

Barcelona have so far remained undeterred in their pursuit of their first La Liga crown in 3 years. 8 points above their closest competitor, it's safe to say that the race is Barcelona's to lose at this point. They are in a crucial part of their campaign and wouldn't want to give Real Madrid a sniff in the title race. 8 points is great, but how about 11? Because that's what will happen if they emerge victorious tonight.

But, they will have to get past a Villarreal side who are beaming to land that emergency blow as they've been rocked hard by Rayo Vallecano and bottom placed Elche in recent times. Having claimed one giant scalp earlier on in the form of Real Madrid, they'll feel they can do it again, even though it's against a giant that has stamped on them numerous times in the past.

INTERESTING STATS

- When Villarreal hosts Barcelona at home, the most common result is a 1-0 win for the Catalan giants. Three matches have ended with this result.

- Villarreal have only won five out of the last 24 meetings between the two teams while playing at home. Six matches have ended as a draw, while Barcelona have won 13 times.

- Barça have won 30 out of the last 49 meetings, between the two clubs. The Yellow Submarine have only managed nine wins, while there have been ten draws.

- Barcelona have scored 104 goals in the last 49 matches between the two clubs while Villarreal have found the back of the net on 58 occasions.

- Xavi’s men are on a ten-match winning run in all competitions and are looking to make it 11 in a row. As far as La Liga goes, they have won their last five fixtures.

Last five meetings 

20/10/22 Barça 3-0 Villarreal
22/05/22 Barça 0-2 Villarreal
27/11/21 Villarreal 1-3 Barça
25/04/21 Villarreal 1-2 Barça
27/09/20 Barça 4-0 Villarreal

TEAM NEWS

Former Barça coach Quique Setien will be without some key players in the form of Gio LoCelso, Alfonso Pedraza, Nicolas Jackson and Filip Jorgensen. Pau Torres, after missing out on Elche, will be back for this clash.

Setien will likely stick to the side that lost against Elche in a 4-3-3 formation.

Pepe Reina will start in goal. Juan Foyth, Pau Torres, Raul Albiol and Johan Mojica will be the defenders.

Alex Baena, Etienne Capoue, and Dani Parejo will be the engine room while Samuel Chukwueze, Yeremy Pino, and Gerard Moreno will be the front three.

Barcelona

Ousmane Dembele and Sergio Busquets remain unavailable due to thigh and ankle injuries, respectively. This means that Xavi has little to tinker from the starting XI against Sevilla.

Zamora favorite, Marc Andre TerStegen will start between the sticks. The best defense in Europe, Koundé, Christensen, Araujo and Balde will feature once again. 

It's likely that Xavi will revert to his 4-3-3 formation, with Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie DeJong looking to dominate the midfield battle against Parejo and co.

Ansu Fati will likely start against his favorite opponents today in his favored position, with Lewandowski and Raphinha rounding up the attack.

Where and when are Villarreal vs Barcelona playing?

Location: Villarreal, Spain

Stadium: Estadio de la Ceramica

Date: Sunday 12 February

Kick-off Time: 20:00 GMT / 15:00 EST / 12:00 PST, 21:00 🇳🇬

Referee: Alejandro Hernandez

The Yellow Submarines are desperate to return to the Champions League spots and will be motivated in front of their fans. However, they've been torpedoed repeatedly by Barcelona, irrespective of the ground, and will likely fall to the League leaders once again.