La Liga: Buoyant Barca to Sink the Yellow Sub

Barcelona vs Villarreal

Barcelona welcome Villarreal to the Camp Nou on Sunday for the final game of the La Liga season. It’s a day of celebration for the Blaugrana while the Yellow Submarine still has work to do to guarantee European football next season.

Real Madrid fans might ask what Barca have to celebrate about as, while Los Blancos sit at the top of La Liga and are in the Champions League final, the Catalans are still in the shadows. But they are about to emerge after a brilliant second half of the campaign following the arrival of head coach Xavi which has produced a second-place finish.

This game brings together two of the best passing sides in the Spanish league and Unai Emery’s visitors are currently in seventh place in the La Liga table and just a point above Athletic Bilbao, who have a tough fixture away to fourth-placed Sevilla.

The pre-match La Liga 2022 betting odds back a home win, but only just. It promises to be an entertaining final to the campaign and I expect Xavi’s Barca to finish on a high. 

Talking Points

Xavi’s Barca revolution

It isn’t too much to describe Xavi’s influence at the Camp Nou as revolutionary as he picked the club up in its darkest moments for over a decade. The loss of talisman Messi and a poor first half of the 2021/22 campaign gave little hope to the fans, and the departure of head coach and Barca playing legend Ronald Koeman became inevitable.

When the new man arrived, he was another beloved by the fans for his outstanding service on the pitch and he vowed to bring the good times back, though supporters would need to be patient.

But he set to work immediately, making shrewd recruitments in the January transfer window, notably the signing of Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has scored 11 goals from 16 games and taken some of the weight from the shoulders of top scorer Memphis Depay who has 12 goals.

And Ousmane Dembele has raised his game to stratospheric levels since the arrival of Xavi, making 11 assists since February. As well as providing ammunition for the strikers, the energetic Dembele provides cover for full-back Dani Alves and the two players use intricate passing movements down the flank to launch many attacks.

19-year-old wunderkind Ansu Fati entered the La Liga 2022 highlights reel when he scored his first league goal since November in Barca’s 2-1 victory over Real Betis and his return from injury is a real boost.

Xavi has already got the fans excited about the next transfer window with his interest in Bundesliga scoring machine Robert Lewandowski.  

Behind the front men, Barca legend Sergio Busquets continues the pull the strings. He has transformed the role of the defencive midfielder in his time at the Camp Nou and is one of the most successful passers in the league.  

Things are happening quickly at the Camp Nou under Xavi and the steadying influence of Busquets is priceless. 

Emery the tactician

Xavi’s counterpart in Unai Emery is known for his tactical nous, which has made him one of the most successful managers in Europe in recent seasons. The Basque-born boss has won the Europa League four times, three with Sevilla, and last season with the Yellow Submarine.

And this term, Villarreal enjoyed an outstanding Champions League campaign by beating Juventus and Bayern Munich before giving Liverpool an almighty scare in the semi-final.

Only a master tactician can take on the best as Emery does year after year and he will be working hard to spoil Barcelona’s last day celebration.

A win would cement seventh place for Villarreal and Emery will create a defencive block with a packed midfield and hope to penetrate the Barca defence with a killer ball.

Dani Parejo is one of the best passers in La Liga and has made nine assists, while Giovanni Lo Celso is another fantastic ball player. But the Yellow Submarine is without its two top scorers in Arnaut Danjuma with 10 goals and Gerard Moreno with nine because of injuries.

Highly-rated defencive pair Pau Torres and Raul Albiol will need to be at their best to cope with the pace of Dembele and the finishing of Auba, and that promises to be the main battle.      

History

Barca have won 29 of the last 47 meetings, drawing 10 and losing eight, and the most recent have gone entirely the way of the Catalans as they have won the last five – scoring 15 goals and conceding four.

In the return match, goals from Frenkie de Jong, Depay, and the departed Philippe Coutinho gave the Blaugrana a 3-1 victory.

Barca have won four, drawn one, and lost one of the last six, while Villarreal have won just one, drawn one, and lost four. 

Betting Tip

With the draw at SBOTOP odds of 3.49 and an away win at 3.30, there is more than a fighting chance for Villarreal.

But Barca are unbeaten in their last 13 games against Villarreal at the Camp Nou and, with an expectant crowd behind them and a depleted attack facing them, I expect Xavi’s men to finish with a bang.    

 

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