The Catalans have been in scintillating form in recent games and have won nine of their last ten games in all competitions. Much of this has been down to the good form of talismanic forwards Lionel Messi and Neymar who have both led from the front.
Messi who had been linked with a move away from the club earlier in the season after a row with manager Luis Enrique, has scored seven and assisted three in his last five matches in all competitions. The Argentinean has been vital to the club's success in recent years and the Barcelona faithful were reassured by midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez that the club has moved on from the row between the club's best player and the manager.
"These are situations which happen over the season, and can happen in any group of people," Xavi said.
"There are tense situations when you want to win. It has zero importance. The issue is closed. We are all united inside and we are all motivated. There is a fantastic atmosphere. Mathieu's words will not affect anything. That was solved at the time, and that's it."
Such minor incidents during training took place all time in atmospheres where all involved were highly motivated winners, Xavi said.
"It will happen again with other teammates, other coaches," he said. "It was given the importance it warranted -- and that is zero. We all want to win," he added.
Barcelona were against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Copa del Rey last time out, a match they won 3-2 thus sealing a place in the next round of the competition. Despite of the fact that Barca have made major strides in recent weeks, they trail rivals Real Madrid by four points having played the same number of matches.
Villarreal on the other hand have been very impressive themselves having won all of their last four matches. Their last three wins have come from a 1-0 score line and Marcelino García Toral will be delighted if the match ends in a similar fashion on Sunday.
Much of their good form however has been down to good defensive work and it will be interesting to see how they cope up without star defender Gabriel Paulista who completed a move to English side Arsenal last week.
However with the Brazilian's departure the Yellow Submarine have gained the services of a talented player in Joel Campbell who has joined Villarreal on loan and will be eager to showcase his talent if given the opportunity.
Barcelona vs Villarreal team sheets
Barcelona's starting XI: Bravo; Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Alba; Busquets, Iniesta, Rafinha; Suárez, Messi, Neymar.
Villarreal's starting XI: Asenjo, Mario, Musacchio, V.Ruiz, J.Costa; Bruno, Pina, Jona dos Santos, Cheryshev; Vietto, Giovani
Barcelona's bench: Ter Stegen, Mathieu, Adriano, Rakitic, Xavi, Sergi Roberto, Pedro
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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