19′ It could also be pretty dull evening for Ter Stegen who has not even been involved yet.
17′ Barcelona are already in total control inside the first 20 minutes, and that defeat to Granada now seems a distant memory. This could be a long night for the Yellow Submarine.
15′ Busquets gets plenty of applause for his pass as his ball gave Arthur the time he needed to pick his spot. The Spaniard has dominated midfield so far and long may it continue.
Arthur
Goal
15′ WHAT A HIT!!!! BARCELONA 2-0 VILLARREAL – The fans go wild as Arthur smashes his shot into the top corner. Villarreal allowed Barcelona to make several simple passes, but Arthur still had it all to do. He received a pass from Busquets before unleashing a powerful drive to give Asenjo no chance in goal.
12′ Barcelona have really settled down and the home fans are really behind them, despite their slow start to the season.
10′ Villarreal appear happy to sit back and wait for Barcelona to enter their half. Many teams have tried that tactic before, but it is allowing Valverde’s side to settle into their rhythm.
8′ The early goal will do Barcelona the world of good in front of their own fans. After last weekend’s poor result, a big performance is needed tonight, and this has been the dream start.
L. Messi
Assist
6′ Messi claims the assist and he deserves plenty of praise for his corner. The Argentina international added the perfect amount of spin to allow Griezmann to find some space.
A. Griezmann
Goal
6′ GOAAAALLLL Barcelona 1-0 Villarreal – Griezmann wheels away in celebration after a brilliant header at the near post. The Frenchman was left unmarked, and he met Messi’s cross before beating Asenjo thanks to his delicate touch.
5′ The home side win another corner after a dangerous attack down the right wing…
3′ Villarreal clear the danger at the first attempt thanks to a header at the near post.
2′ Valverde’s men have made a solid start and win the first corner of the match…
1′ We are underway at Camp Nou!
The two teams are now on the field and we are waiting for kick off.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 20 LaLiga games against Villarreal, failing to score in only one of them. Their last defeat against tonight’s visitors in the competition was in March 2008.
Javier Calleja’s men were last in action against Real Valladolid, winning 2-0 on home soil. Ontiveros, Chukwueze come into the team, with Bacca and Gomez dropping out.
Messi returns to the starting line up in what is a huge boost for boss Ernesto Valverde. He is joined in the first team by Busquets and Arthur, while Ivan Rakitic, De Jong and Carles Perez drop out.
SUBS: Ramiro Funes Mori, Andres Fernandez, Karl Toko Ekambi, Carlos Bacca, Manuel Morlanes, Moi Gomez, Andrei Ratiu.
VILLARREAL (4-2-3-1): Sergio Asenjo; Ruben Pena, Raul Albiol, Pau Torres, Xavi Quintilla; Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Vicente Iborra; Samuel Chukwueze, Santi Cazorla, Javier Ontiveros; Gerard Moreno.
SUBS: Anssumane Fati, Neto, Arturo Vidal, Jean-Clair Todibo, Carles Alena, Frenkie de Jong, Ousmane Dembele.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Junior Firpo; Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Arthur; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Antoine Griezmann.
Barcelona have endured one of their worst starts to a league campaign for over 20 years following the 2-0 defeat to Granada on Saturday. They have also been beaten by Athletic Bilbao, while Villarreal are unbeaten in their last three in the league.
Good evening and welcome to tonight’s live coverage of the LaLiga contest between Barcelona and Villarreal. The Yellow Submarine sit one point above the reigning champions and come into the game in good form, while Barcelona have made a poor start to the campaign.
Busquets
Assist