The €436m combined Villarreal and Barcelona starting XI ahead of La Liga clash

Villarreal and Barcelona are preparing to go head-to-head in La Liga this Sunday, and here we have rounded up a combined XI between the two sides.

The Yellow Submarine have enjoyed a mixed start to the season, losing one and winning one, but they have pleasantly surprised with the quality of their performances.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have drawn one and won one, but they haven’t convinced with their performances, setting up an interesting clash with Villarreal this Sunday.

Ahead of the top six clash, we have rounded up a combined starting XI between Villarreal and Barca, and we have also included each player’s value, according to Transfermarkt.

GK - Marc-Andre ter Stegen - €35m

Zero doubt. Villarreal are trusting Filip Jorgensen between the sticks, and with no experienced option aside from Pepe Reina, ter Stegen has this one nailed down.

LB - Alejandro Balde - €50m

Balde edges Alfonso Pedraza on attacking threat, even if Pedraza has plenty to give going forward. We have gone for defensive solidarity on the other side, so we will go for attacking threat here.

CB - Ronald Araujo - €70m

Raul Albiol may have beaten out Araujo last season, but the Spaniard is a year older and coming back of injury. We will go with the more youthful option here.

CB - Joules Kounde - €60m

Kounda makes this starting XI pretty comfortably after the departure of Pau Torres from Villarreal. There would have been a tough call while Torres was here.

RB - Juan Foyth - €25m

Foyth has been linked with Barca for some time, and he is one of the best right-backs in the league after years of consistent performances. He is not the most attacking, but there may not be any better right-back at pure defending in La Liga.

CM - Ilkay Gundogan - €20m

Gundogan has been world-class for years, and he is some signing for Barcelona.

CM - Dani Parejo - €6m

Parejo’s seasoned class on the ball saw him eyed by Barcelona over the summer, and for a reason. Sitting in a deeper role and dictating the play, he could easily start here.

Photo by Cristian Trujillo/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

CM - Alejandro Baena - €20m

Frenkie de Jong may have something to say about this, but Baena is getting better and better, and he has already shown he can add a lot more than de Jong in terms of production.

LW - Gerard Moreno - €20m

Gerard is one of the best attackers in Spain when fit, and he would slip comfortably into the Barca XI ahead of Raphinha.

RW - Pedri - €100m

Pedri is quickly becoming one of the best players in the world, although he won’t be available this weekend through injuries.

CF - Robert Lewandowski - €30m

Villarreal don’t have an out and out striker who can compete with the world-class talents of Lewandowski. There’s no question here.