Villarreal vs. Barcelona: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Barcelona will face a tricky challenge during Sunday's La Liga action, as Villarreal will play host to the Blaugrana at the Estadio de la Ceramica―better known as El Madrigal.

The Yellow Submarine entered Week 15 of the season in sixth place in the standings but have been on a poor run of form of late, losing their last two matches in La Liga. They've won three of their last four home outings, however, and have an excellent reputation in front of their own fans.

Here's all you need to know about the upcoming fixture.

Date: Sunday, December 10

Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT/2:45 p.m. ET

Venue: Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal

TV Info: Sky Sports (UK), BeIN Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: Sky Go, BeIN Sports Connect

Team News

Villarreal's poor run of form can be partly explained by the mountain of injuries the team has had to deal with, and the Yellow Submarine will hope to return a few of those players.

Star goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo has been the most pivotal absence, but Samu Castillejo, Denis Cheryshev, Nicola Sansone, Ruben Semedo, Carlos Bacca and others have all struggled with knocks of late.

Asenjo made the team in midweek for the UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv:

Barcelona rested a few key starters in the win over Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League, although Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets both appeared as substitutes. Samuel Umtiti's injury means Thomas Vermaelen may be in line for another start.

Preview

Barcelona have failed to win their last two La Liga matches and need to grab some momentum ahead of the festive season. Fortunately for the Blaugrana, Villarreal are going through a tough spell, and that's excellent timing for the trip to El Madrigal―which is usually a tricky one.

fotopress/Getty Images

The Yellow Submarine were able to rest some of their top players in midweek as they had already qualified for the next round of the Europa League, but it's unlikely all of their injured contributors will recover in time for Sunday's fixture.

Barcelona are also dealing with some key injuries, although they're slowly getting healthy again. Ousmane Dembele, this summer's headline signing, appears to be on the right track:

Umtiti will undoubtedly be Barcelona's key absence moving forward―the club has plenty of depth to deal with injuries elsewhere, but the centre-back position isn't a deep one for the Catalans, and Javier Mascherano has also been plagued by knocks this season.

The key for Barcelona will be to attack early and often, isolating Cedric Bakambu and Bacca―if healthy―in the process. The two have been Villarreal's main scorers this season, and the team is reliant on the duo―take them out of the equation, and Villarreal will struggle.

Prediction: Villarreal 1-2 Barcelona