The Spain ace was initially ruled out of the game with a hamstring injury, but he know expects to catch the crunch game with the leaders after 11 days.

"It is a long time. I hope I'm there against Barcelona. I have to work every day to make it but I expect to recover," Villa said in Sport.

Villa, who misses Spain's qualifiers with Armenia and Bosnia, is currently La Liga's top scorer with six goals in as many games.