Barcelona vs Villarreal - Villarreal wary of threat Neymar and Luis Suarez pose

Posted Saturday, November 07, 2015 by PA

Villarreal will have to contend with the red-hot attacking duo of Neymar and Luis Suarez when they play at Barcelona on Sunday.

The two players were on target in their team's 3-0 triumph over BATE Borisov in Wednesday's Champions League game.

Neymar struck twice and set up Suarez for the third to put Barca on the verge of qualification for the knockout phase of the competition.

The players have been in terrific form since Barca's loss of Lionel Messi to a knee injury in September, with Neymar and Suarez having combined for 17 goals to help the club clinch six wins in their last eight games in all competitions.

Neymar, La Liga's leading scorer with nine goals, said on his club's official website: "Last season was the best in my life, but now I am in a great moment.

"We are doing a great job and that is important. But we have to be very calm."

Barca and Real Madrid are level on 24 points at the top of the standings, with Real in first due to goal difference. The Spanish giants meet in La Liga in two weeks.

Barca coach Luis Enrique likes the way his team is playing, especially in defence.

They kept a clean sheet for their third straight game in the Champions League in midweek.

"Defending as a unit is effective," he said. "These results reinforce our defensive work, as well as that of the whole team."

It was not all good news for Barca with Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic sustaining a small tear in his right calf during the first half of Wednesday's match.

He will miss Sunday's match and is doubtful for the El Clasico game against Real.

"We try to take care and avoid injuries, but it's hard," Luis Enrique said. "Unfortunately, we lost Rakitic.

"We don't know the reason (behind muscular injuries), but for players who play with national teams and club teams, they have a lot of minutes, and we're not having a lot of luck there."

Barca have not lost at home since a 1-0 league defeat to Malaga on February 29.

They take on a Villarreal side that followed their 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday with a 2-1 victory at Dinamo Minsk in Thursday's Europa League.

Villarreal are fifth in La Liga, four points adrift of Barcelona, with six triumphs and two defeats in their opening 10 domestic games.

Roberto Soldado, who scored both of the club's goals in midweek, will lead Villarreal's attack but the club will be without defender Eric Bertrand Bailly, who is suspended.