Barcelona vs. Villarreal time, odds, lines: 2023 La Liga picks, August 27 predictions by top soccer expert
Barcelona will try to get rolling Sunday when they visit El Madrigal to face Villarreal in a Spanish La Liga match. Barcelona cruised to the La Liga championship last season, finishing 10 points ahead of Real Madrid. Villarreal finished fifth in the La Liga table, 24 points behind the champs. Barca (1-1-0) looked sluggish in a season-opening 0-0 draw with Getafe, but they found a little spark at Camp Nou in a 2-0 victory against Cadiz last Sunday. Villarreal rebounded from a 2-1 home loss to Real Betis with a 1-0 victory on the road at Mallorca on Aug. 18. Barcelona won both meetings last season, 3-0 at Camp Nou and 1-0 at El Madrigal.
Kickoff at Estadio de la Ceramica in Villarreal, Spain is set for 11:30 a.m. ET. Barcelona are +104 favorites (risk $100 to win $104), with Villarreal priced as +255 underdogs, in the latest Villarreal vs. Barcelona odds. A draw is priced at +255 and the over/under for total goals scored is 2.5. Before you make any Barcelona vs. Villarreal picks or Spanish La Liga bets, you need to to see what proven SportsLine soccer insider Martin Green has to say.
After working in the sports betting industry for several years, Green became a professional sports writer and handicapper and has covered the game worldwide. Since last year's World Cup, Green has been profitable in multiple areas on his soccer picks, including the Champions League (+4.78 units), the FA Cup (+3.07) and the EFL Cup (+3.64), Euro 2024 qualifiers (+3.01) and Europa League (+1.60).
Now, Green has broken down the Villarreal vs. Barcelona matchup from every angle and just locked in his picks and La Liga predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the betting lines and trends for Barcelona vs. Villarreal:
- Villarreal vs. Barcelona spread: Barcelona -0.5 (-105)
- Villarreal vs. Barcelona over/under: 2.5 goals
- Villarreal vs. Barcelona money line: Villarreal +245, Barcelona +104, Draw +255
- VIL: They have scored 23 goals in their past 10 home league matches
- BAR: They have scored in 20 of their past 23 league games on the road
- Villarreal vs. Barcelona picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why you should back Barcelona
The Blaugrana have dominated this series, winning 27 of the past 28 meetings (21-6-1). Villarreal's only victory over that span came at Camp Nou in May 2022. Barca have won four in a row at El Madrigal, outscoring the Yellow Submarine 8-3. The visitors had by far the best defense in La Liga last season, and it looks like that will continue. Barcelona conceded just 20 goals over 38 matches in 2022-23, 13 fewer than any other team. They have allowed just three shots on target in posting clean sheets in their first two games. Of course, it helps that they held 74% possession in both.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen had an astonishing 26 clean sheets in 2022-23. Striker Robert Lewandowski will be eager to open his account for the season, but he has an assist. The Polish star had a league-high 23 goals in 2022-23. He also led La Liga in shots (134) and attempts on target (56) and has put two of seven on net so far. Ferran Torres scored against Cadiz despite playing just six minutes, and Pedri also had a goal but is expected to be out Sunday. See which team to pick here.
Why You Should Back Villarreal
The Yellow Submarine went 12-3-4 at El Madrigal last season, conceding just 18 goals over the 19 home matches. Five of Barcelona's six league losses in 2022-23 came on the road. The Barca defense wasn't nearly as dominant away from Camp Nou, either, as 16 of the 20 goals they conceded were on the road. Gerard Moreno has been looking like he is healthy so far, which is good news for Villarreal. The 30-year-old has 16 goals over the past two seasons but played in only half the games. Moreno scored the winning goal last week against Mallorca.
Alexander Sorloth and Ben Brereton Diaz. Sorloth scored 12 goals with Real Sociedad in 2022-23, and Brereton Diaz had 26 over the past two seasons with Blackburn. Villarreal held the ball for 61% of last week's match, and Mallorca had just one shot on target. They aren't likely to dominate like that this week, but they will have confidence on their turf. The Yellow Submarine finished fifth last year, and while they failed to beat Barca, they beat the other three teams ahead of them, including Atletico and Real Madrid on the road. See which team to pick here.
How to make La Liga and Villarreal vs. Barcelona picks
Green has scrutinized the Villarreal vs. Barcelona match from every angle, and he is leaning Under on the goal total. He also provides his two best bets, both plus-money plays, and has a full breakdown of the match. He's only sharing his La Liga picks and analysis at SportsLine.
