Villarreal can launch an outsider La Liga title bid if it beats Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Villarreal has quietly mounted a potential dark horse title campaign through most of the first half of La Liga.

Now it has a chance to make it official when the “Yellow Submarine” hosts Barcelona on Sunday.

The team coached by Marcelino García Toral is in third place at eight points behind leader Barcelona and four behind second-placed Real Madrid. But it has played two fewer games than the powerhouses so it could easily be in an even stronger position.

Villarreal has disappointed in the Champions League and was eliminated from the Copa del Rey by a lower-division side this week. But La Liga is a different story. Villarreal is on a six-game winning run and its only two losses have come at Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

The game will pit the league’s top defense in Villarreal with 13 goals allowed against the league’s top attack. Barcelona has poured in 49 goals and more than made up for a sometimes shaky defense by outscoring its opponents.

Key matches

Barcelona will look to both quash thoughts of a challenge by Villarreal and close 2025 on a high note this weekend.

An eighth consecutive league victory for Lamine Yamal and company would also keep the pressure on a Madrid side which is struggling.

Madrid hosts Sevilla on Saturday with coach Xabi Alonso in need of a convincing victory before they have the two-week winter break to ponder the team’s future.

Madrid needed a last-minute save by goalkeeper Andriy Lunin to avoid a potential embarrassment against a third-tier club in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. That came after a lackluster win at Alaves in the Spanish league and back-to-back losses at home to Manchester City in the Champions League and Celta Vigo in La Liga.

Atletico Madrid, in fourth, visits Girona on Sunday, while fifth-placed Espanyol takes its surprising four-win run to Athletic Bilbao on Monday.

Players to watch

Villarreal has based its success on a team effort with several goal-scorers and playmakers. But left winger Alberto Moleiro stands out. He is having a breakout first season with the team and leads Villarreal with six league goals. Tajon Buchanan has added five goals, and midfielder Santi Comesaña helps a solid midfield.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has so far succeeded in making a left-side center back of Gerard Martín, who struggled to fill in at left back when Alejandro Balde was injured late last season.

Martín has five consecutive starts in the center of the defensive line as Flick tries to find a replacement for Íñigo Martínez, who left last summer for Saudi Arabia. Martín may be tested by Villarreal’s attack.

Out of action

Villarreal will be missing injured veteran striker Gerard Moreno and defensive midfielder Pape Gueye, who is with Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Madrid’s backline remains diminished even after getting Antonio Rudiger and Dean Huijsen back healthy. Éder Militão, David Alaba, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy are all injured. Álvaro Carreras is serving a suspension.

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