Barcelona welcome fifth-placed Villarreal to the Camp Nou for the first meeting between the two sides since the Yellow Submarines return to the top flight this season. Barcelona suffered their first league loss of the season last week against Athletic Bilbao but rebounded well in the Champions League with a 6-1 demolition of Celtic.
Barcelona vs. Villarreal: Preview and TV schedule
The Blaugrana will attempt to start a new winning streak in league play with a tough test against the Yellow Submarine.
David Ramos
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Gerardo Martino will get back some of his depth with the return of Andrés Iniesta and Jordi Alba from injury while Cesc Fábregas is back from suspension. Alba played in Barca's Copa del Rey match last weekend but this will likely be his first action in the league since September 14th. Adriano's suspension and Dani Alves continued injury struggles takes away Martino's ability to no push Alba back into action too fast.
Villarreal are unbeaten in their last four matches and have played well against the other two top teams in the league this season drawing against both Real Madrd and Atlético Madrid. This will be another tough test for Marcelino García Toral's side who currently sit five points clear of Real Sociedad.
Barcelona injuries and suspensions
Out: Lionel Messi (thigh), Victor Valdés (calf), Dani Alves (leg), Adriano (suspended).
Villarreal injuries and suspensions
Out: Cani (suspended), Farinas (foot), Bruno Soriano (suspended)
Messi and Valdés remain out until January and Dani Alves continues to struggle with a leg injury picked up during the last international break. Two Villarreal midfielders, Cani and team captain Bruno are out serving card suspensions while Javier Farinós will miss out with a foot injury.
Projected lineups
Barcelona: José Manuel Pinto, Martin Montoya, Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Alexis Sánchez, Pedro Rodriguez, Neymar.
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo, Mark Gaspar, Mateo Mussachio, Gabriel Paulista, Jaume Costa, Javier Aquino, Manu Trigueros, Tomás Pina, Moi Gómez, Ikechukwu Uche, Jonathan
Match Date/Time: 8 p.m. local, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona Spain
TV: beIN Sport, beIN Sport en Español (U.S.), Sky Sports 4 (U.K.), Canal+ Liga (Spain)
Online: beIN Sport play (U.S.), beIN Sport Play (Canada), Gol Stadium (Spain)
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