Barcelona will look to continue their remarkable run of form when they travel to Valencia to face Levante.
Venue: Estadi Ciutat de València (Valencia)
Key Statistics
Levante are unbeaten in their last three games at home (two wins and one draw).
The hosts have kept two clean sheets in their last three home games.
A penalty has been awarded in five of Levante’s last ten La Liga home head-to-heads.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 14 La Liga games, with ten wins and four draws in that period.
The visitors have won their last six La Liga games.
They have won their last three away league games, scoring 2+ goals in each of those games.
Ousmane Dembélé has been a Catalan catalyst for Barcelona in their last six LL games (G1, A8), contributing nearly half of their goals during the sequence.
Head to head
Barcelona have won eleven of the last 15 head-to-head meetings between both sides. Levante have three wins in that period.
Latest performances in all competitions
Levante: W-L-D-L-W
Barcelona: D-W-W-W-W
Levante
Levante will look to make it two league wins in a row for the first time since July 2020 when they host Barcelona this Sunday.
The hosts did not win a league game this season until January. But since winning their first game, they have won three more games, including their last game against Villareal (2-0).
Although they remain rooted in the relegation zone with 22 points so far, they are still harbouring hopes of avoiding a first La Liga (LL) relegation since 2015/16.
Given that they are unbeaten in their last three home games, they will come into this tie confident of getting a good result. Also, they have had one loss at home to Barcelona since returning to the top-flight in 2017 (W3, D1) which will be a source of encouragement for them as they attempt to avenge their 3-0 loss to Barca in the reverse fixture.
Possible Levante starting line-up
Dani Cardenas; Pier Rober, Sergio Postigo, Ruben Vezo; Jorge Miramon, Gonzalo Melero, Pepelu, Jose Campana; Luis Morales, Roger Marti.
Injured: Carlos Clerc, Oscar Duarte, Daniel Gomez, Roberto Soldado, Jorge de Frutos
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Barcelona
After their Europa League exertions in Germany, Barcelona will turn their attention to the league where they are fighting to keep their place in the top two.
The visitors come into this tie sitting in second place, 12 points behind Real Madri, but level on points with Sevilla and Atletico Madrid.
The Catalan side were held to a 1-1 draw by Eintracht Frankfurt, and still, have the return leg to play next week. And so, with that second leg in view, manager Xavi Hernández could be tested on his domestic priorities despite having a game in hand.
However, they can’t afford a loss here, as it could potentially drag them down to fourth. But given that they are unbeaten in 14 league games, they remain in control of their top-four destiny.
Their away form has been remarkable in recent times as they won their last three La Liga away wins while scoring 2+ goals in each. Despite that form, this could be a tough defensive test here for them given that they have failed to keep a clean sheet in ten of their last 13 away league games, as well as conceding 13 goals at Levante across their last five visits.
Possible Barcelona starting line-up
Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres.
Injured: Memphis Depay, Ansu Fati, Sergino Dest, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Luuk de Jong
Doubtful: Gerard Pique
Suspended: None
Prediction
Levante 1-2 Barcelona