Barcelona vs Aston Villa Prediction

Barcelona's scoring run versus Villa's mixed away form

Barcelona's last 20 matches across competitions show 16 wins, one draw and just three losses, with 60 goals scored and only 21 conceded. That's a heavy scoring rate, and it's come against a mix of league, cup and continental opposition.

Barcelona: 20 completed matches; Aston Villa: 20 completed matches.

Barcelona

20 matches

Win

80% 16 / 20

Draw

5% 1 / 20

Loss

15% 3 / 20

Scored

61

Conceded

21

Difference

+40

Aston Villa

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

40

Conceded

33

Difference

+7

Villa's picture looks different. Over their last 20 games they've won 10, drawn 2 and lost 8, scoring 42 and conceding 31. They've put four past Liverpool and four past Nottingham Forest, but they've also lost to Tottenham, Arsenal, Club Brugge and Coventry in that spell. It's a stop-start record rather than a settled one.

Villa can hurt strong sides on their day, but they've also been beaten by teams of similar standing, so there's no guarantee of consistency.

Comparative Team Statistics: Barcelona vs Aston Villa

Early Champions League table

After one matchday in this season's league phase, Barcelona sit third with three points following a 5-1 win. Villa are ninth, also with three points, having won their opener 3-2.

It's still early days in the group stage, so neither position tells us much beyond a solid start for both.

Players delivering of late

Lamine Yamal picked up two assists in his most recent appearance for Barcelona, a sign of how much they lean on him to create chances. For Villa, Pau Torres also chipped in with two assists in his last outing, which shows their threat can come from unexpected areas too.

Barcelona:

Best assist providers:

Lamine Yamal - 2

Aston Villa:

Best assist providers:

Pau Torres - 2

How this one could play out

Barcelona's home sample points to a side that creates and scores freely against most opposition they face. Villa, though, have proven they can compete with big European names when they're switched on, having beaten Liverpool comfortably and pushed Bayern Munich and PSG close in pre-season. If Villa manage to keep things tight early on, this could end up closer than Barcelona's home numbers alone would suggest.