Barcelona are away at Villarreal knowing that a win would see them open up a mighty 11-point lead at the top of the La Liga standings.
Barca beat Sevilla 3-0 last time out and can extend their lead in the absence of second place Real Madrid who won the Club World Cup on Saturday.
Villarreal on the other hand are coming off back to back defeats to Vallecano and Elche, leaving them in 8th place with 31 points.
Barcelona came out 3-0 winners against Villarreal in the reverse fixture and they are looking to make it 11 straight wins in all competitions.
They failed to qualify for the knockout round of the Champions League but beat Madrid to the Spanish Super Cup title last month.
Villarreal won three consecutive matches against Barcelona between 2007 and 2008 but have won only one of the last 27 matches played between the two teams in La Liga.
Barcelona have taken something away from each of their last 13 away games against Villarreal and have won their last three such matches.
Villarreal, who have not finished fourth in La Liga since 2015-16, have lost six of their last seven league games against Barcelona.
Can Barca register yet another away win to stretch their unbeaten run to 12 games? Click here to make your predictions for this clash.
What time does Villarreal vs Barcelona start?
The game kicks off at 11pm at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Villarreal vs Barcelona team news
Alfonso Pedraza, Nicolas Jackson, Giovani Lo Celso and Filip Jorgensen are still all absent for the hosts through injury.
Quique Setien is not expected to make any changes from the side that lost to Elche with Gerard Moreno looking to score in consecutive games.
As for the visiting league leaders, Sergio Busquets is on the sidelines with the ankle issue that he suffered against Sevilla, meaning Frenkie De Jong will start.
The attacking line will be led by Robert Lewandowski and on the flanks he will be supported by Raphinha and Ansu Fati on the left hand side.
Villarreal vs Barcelona head to head
Barcelona have an excellent recent record against Villarreal and have won 29 out of the last 47 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Villarreal’s eight victories.
The remaining 10 have resulted in a draw.
Villarreal vs Barcelona current form
The home team have only managed one win in their last 5 games, losing three and sharing the spoils in another whilst Barcelona have won all of their 5 games – scoring 8 goals and conceding just once.
Villarreal vs Barcelona prediction
Both teams are very likely to get a goal in the game and there have been over 1.5 goals in the last 10 matches between these two. Though, Barcelona are favorites to win and extend their lead atop the La Liga standings.