Key takeaways ahead of Barça vs Villarreal
- Heavy rotation on the cards: With La Liga already wrapped up, Hansi Flick plans to give fringe players minutes. Ansu Fati, Pablo Torre, Pau Víctor and Héctor Fort are all tipped to start.
- Goalkeeper situation: Marc‑André ter Stegen is expected to keep his place for the final two games. Wojciech Szczęsny—still weighing up a contract extension—will likely be on the bench despite his heroics against Espanyol.
- Lewandowski dilemma: The striker sits three goals behind Kylian Mbappé in the Pichichi race. Flick may start him to chase the award, but recent muscle niggles mean a managed workload is possible.
- Midfield shuffle: Gavi should come in, giving rest to either Pedri (heavy minutes) or Frenkie de Jong (bench likely).
- Fitness concerns: Ronald Araújo (knee discomfort) could be held back; Ferran Torres, Jules Kounde and Marc Bernal remain sidelined.
- Keeper plans pending: Barça won’t move on long‑term goalkeeper decisions until Szczęsny clarifies whether he’ll sign a new deal.
