Ahead of the match against Villarreal at the weekend, Barcelona firmly expects to be able to maintain its great form this season. All the first team are available for this match as I could see in their training sessions at the Ciutat Esportiva "except Dembele who is still dealing with his injury". I also hope they can maintain their form, and once again this is home match which should allow them to maintain their unbeaten record.
Villareal is an opponent that can challenge Barcelona and can prevent Barcelona to have three points. The injury of Dembele and his missing are one of things Barcelona don't want to have but they have other players who can replace Dembele. Their system works well and other players can cover the missing of Dembele. With that good system, they won't have to rely only on a single player to replace Dembele. I expect to see good performance from Ansu Fati and he should take advantage of Dembele injury to reclaim his position and more important role in Barcelona. It would be important for him if he can get part of his best performance in this season and will be able to play better in a next season.
I'm very confident and also optimistic about Barcelona, and now it's all backed up by interesting facts about Barcelona's struggles this season in La Liga
They have good advantage and history supports them too but it is too early to say about title. Real Madrid are still there and they are not a weak competitor.
Right. maybe, Villarreal can become a stumbling block for Barcelona to gain full points in the match later. but Unfortunately, Villarreal's current form is inconsistent. in their last two matches, Villarreal was defeated by Rayo and fell when competing against Elche. so I doubt, the home team can keep up with Barcelona's game. even though Dembele was absent in this match, it looks like Xavi still has other player options like Raphinha who played quite well against Sevilla.
Meanwhile, Barcelona is performing a very positive trend. it seems very difficult for Villarreal topple the away team in the match later. especially at the first meeting this season, Villarreal was slaughtered 3-0. IMO, I wouldn't be surprised if Xavi would tweak his formation and strategy against Villarreal. because Xavi will maximize his team to continue to widen the points gap from his rival, Real Madrid.
Moreover, Barcelona also has a crucial match that will meet United in the Europa League playoff round, so it looks like Xavi will maximize his troops to earn full points before focusing on the match against United.