FC Barcelona visits Villarreal this Sunday, December 21, at the Estadio de la Cerámica (4:15 PM CEST) for matchday 16 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26. In the last match of 2025, which was initially scheduled to be played in Miami, Hansi Flick's team will be aiming for their fifteenth victory in 18 league games, their eighth in a row.

  • 📺 Where and when to watch the match on TV: channels broadcasting Villarreal-Barcelona LIVE WATCH

The Blaugrana team comes from defeating Elche, Celta, Athletic, Atlético, Alavés, Betis, and Osasuna to take the lead in LaLiga, with a 4-point advantage over Real Madrid. Los Blancos put pressure on with their victory against Sevilla on Saturday (2-0), but Barça has secured closing out 2025 at the top and is one win away from being winter champions

  • 👉 Lineups: Possible starting XIs for Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona: SEE

Villarreal, for their part, remain third in the standings despite not having played last weekend against **Levante** (match suspended). Marcelino García Toral's team is undefeated at home (7 wins and 1 draw) in the tournament, but they are coming off an unexpected KO in the Copa del Rey against Racing de Santander (2-1) and, in the Champions League, they are already eliminated from the group stage.

Flick's Barça seeks to close the year with 8 consecutive wins

On Sunday, Hansi Flick's Barcelona looks to extend their second-best league streak since the German coach took the helm. The Catalans haven't dropped points since matchday 10 (a 2-1 defeat against Real Madrid) and maintain the league's best offense by far, with 49 goals in 17 games (2.88 per match).

Facing them will be the best defense in LaLiga so far. Villarreal has only conceded 13 goals in their first 15 matchdays in 25/26 and, at home, only dropped points against Betis (2-2) on matchday 9. La Cerámica, however, has been fertile ground for Barça in recent years.

LAST 5 MATCHES OF BARCA AND VILLARREAL
W BARÇA VILLARREAL W
W 🟢 0-2 vs Guadalajara* 2-1 vs Racing* W 🔴
D 🟢 2-0 vs Osasuna 2-3 vs Copenhague* D 🔴
D 🟢 2-1 vs Eintracht* 2-0 vs Getafe D 🟢
W 🟢 3-5 vs Betis 3-5 p. vs Antoniano W 🟢
D 🟢 3-1 vs Atlético 2-3 vs R. Sociedad W 🟢
  • *Champions League/Copa del Rey Match
  • S: Stadium
  • L: Local
  • V: Visitor

The Catalan team has not lost on the 'Yellow Submarine's' turf since 2008 and has won six consecutive matches, the last of which included a rout last season (1-5). In that streak of visits, Barça scored 19 goals and conceded only 7. Furthermore, in their last two performances in Castellón, they have always scored 4 or more goals.

This week, the Culés advanced to the Copa del Rey round of 16 after winning in Guadalajara (0-2), while Marcelino's team lost to the leader of Liga Hypermotion, Racing (2-1), to say goodbye to the tournament. In the Champions League, Villarreal completed a disastrous league phase, with only 1 draw in 6 matchdays and 13 goals conceded.

Injuries once again complicate Flick's plans at Villarreal

INJURED: This is Barcelona's infirmary against Villarreal

For the 17th matchday of LaLiga, Hansi Flick will not be able to count on Pedri González due to injury. The midfielder was ruled out with a left calf injury, which, while not serious, requires rest for the '8' with a view to having him at his best in January.

Another player who did not travel with the squad was Andreas Christensen. The Dane had scored in the Copa del Rey against Guadalajara, but suffered a muscular problem in Saturday's training session and will undergo medical tests first thing Sunday morning to determine the extent of his possible injury.

With this, Barça arrives at La Cerámica with 5 absences, including **Ronald Araujo**. The Uruguayan remains sidelined while completing his emotional and mental recovery, so he will also be absent in Villarreal along with the injured **Dani Olmo** and **Gavi**

Unless there's a surprise, Flick will keep Joan García in goal and the center-back pairing of Pau Cubarsí and Gerard Martín. Eric García will continue as the team's '5', while Koundé and Balde occupy the full-back positions. Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López are set to be midfielders and, in attack, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal should accompany Ferran Torres.

Marcus Rashford also has options to return to the XI. **Lewandowski and Szczesny** will be on the bench, as will Ter Stegen. Casadó, Bernal, and Roony are emerging as possible variations in the second half.

Villarreal also arrives at matchday 17 with many significant absences

The outlook for Villarreal regarding absences is much more complex. Marcelino García Toral will be without up to eight players due to injury. Furthermore, Pape Gueye and Illias Akhomach have left for their national teams in the Africa Cup of Nations and, along with Gerard Moreno and defender Juan Foyth, are the main absentees against Barça.

Logan Costa, Willy Kampwala, Sergi Cardona, Santiago Mouriño, Thomas Partey, and Pau Cabanes remain in the infirmary, meaning Marcelino will have to **bet on an alternative XI**, with few replacements to try and stop a Barça team on fire at the close of 2025.

Unlike 2024, when Flick's team lost the lead between November and December, this year the team reached the end of the year on a winning streak, with 21 points out of a possible 21 in the last two months. With the German coach, **the team was able to win nine consecutive league matches** last season, between January and March.