It has been a chastening week for Barcelona and coach Xavi Hernandez must take action to stop his team from spiralling.
The Catalans drew with Inter Milan, leaving them on the verge of Champions League elimination, then suffered a bruising 3-1 defeat by rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico on Sunday in La Liga.
Los Blancos leapfrogged Barcelona to move three points clear at the top of the table and the challenge for Xavi is to raise his team’s morale and stay firmly in the title fight, not allowing his team to lick their wounds and stumble further.
Losing to Madrid was a bad blow for Barcelona’s confidence but zooming out, it is just a blip in a long season.
It would be just as damaging to drop points against Villarreal on Thursday at Camp Nou.
Unai Emery’s side visit knowing they can capitalise on Barcelona’s recent struggles to earn another victory over the Catalans, as they did on the final day of last season to secure European football.