Barcelona play Villarreal on Monday night at the Nou Camp, with the Spanish champions hoping to make a flying start
The start of La Liga season was postponed for a week due to player strikes, although Barcelona will begin their domestic campaign on Monday night with a tricky home match against Villarreal.
Barca warmed up for the season with a dramatic Super Coppa victory over Real Madrid and will be looking to steal an early march over Jose Mourinho’s team, with bet365 offering odds of 1.25 that the Spanish champions win this match.
The arrivals of Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas seem to make Barcelona an even stronger outfit than last season and it would be no surprise to see them complete a La Liga and Champions League double again.
Lionel Messi continues to be the jewel in the crown and the Argentine is 3.50 to open the scoring against a team that tend to earn most of their points at El Madrigal.
Cesc Fabregas might make his full debut against the Yellow Submarine, with bet365 offering 7.50 that the former Arsenal captain breaks the deadlock at the Nou Camp, while the champions can be backed at 1.61 to lead at half-time and full-time.
Villarreal are available at 13.00 and it is worth bearing in mind that Hercules pulled off a shock victory at Camp Nou last season in the early stages of the campaign and that it might take a little for Barcelona to hit full stride.
Juan Carlos Garrido’s team were fourth in La Liga last season and recently qualified for the group stage of the Champions League where they will face Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Napoli. This match should serve as a good test for how they approach these tough opponents.
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