Levante vs Barcelona
Levante face another roadblock to keep their Spanish top-flight status alive as they’ll host Barcelona this Sunday at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
Los Granotes are 19th in the La Liga table with only 22 points, so they’re in danger of being dropped down to the Segunda Division next season. However, they’ll carry some confidence heading into this contest after their unexpected victory over Villarreal last week.
But Barcelona are a different animal altogether especially with their unbeaten run. The Catalan giants are now placed second with 57 points and they’re trying to make a late push for the title.
Xavi’s men are heavily favoured by the pre-match SBOTOP betting odds given their superior quality over their hosts and it’s not even close, so any result other than a victory would be seen as a disappointment on their end.
Talking Points
Undermanned Levante have nothing to lose
Levante got one of the most shocking La Liga 2022 results this term when they picked up three points against Villarreal with Jose Luis Morales leading the way. The Levante skipper now has nine goals this season after his brace, making him their top scorer and he’ll be relied on to do more with eight games to play.
Head coach Alessio Lisci – who was hired to take over last December – faces a huge conundrum on which combination he should put out there against Barcelona since their injury list never seems to ease up. As of this writing, Los Granotes have six key players who are unavailable this weekend.
The absences of Oscar Duarte, Carlos Clerc, and Martin Caceres will leave them even more vulnerable at the backline that has conceded a league-worst of 58 goals so far this season, while Dani Gomez, Jorge de Frutos, and Roberto Soldado are all going to be missed up front as well.
All of these absences will pave the way for their other players to step up. Other than Jose Luis Morales, Roger Marti, Gonzalo Melero, Enis Bardhi, Jose Campana, and Shkodran Mustafi will all have to bring their A-game in order to stand a chance.
No room for complacency if you’re Barcelona
Barcelona are fresh from a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-finals tie – in a game that was poorly played based on their lofty standards.
The Catalan giants had one of their worst attacking performances since Xavi was appointed as their head coach, and it took a heroic effort from Ferran Torres for them to draw level heading into the second leg.
Xavi and Ferran Torres bemoaned about playing in Eintracht Frankfurt’s home pitch, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse for the unsatisfactory result.
With that in mind, look for Barcelona to have a bounce back performance as they’re generally good in responding from a lacklustre display. Compared to Levante, Gerard Pique is the only notable absence for Barcelona, so they should be good to go this weekend.
History
Barcelona have been the biggest thorn on Levante’s side since they’re the club whom they’ve suffered the most defeats (L23) and conceded the most goals (92) in their La Liga history.
Levante may have won 2-0 against Villarreal last matchday, but they have yet to win in succession since July 2020. In fact, they are the team with the least amount of victories in the current La Liga campaign.
Meanwhile, Barcelona have the best current undefeated record in Europe’s top five leagues (W10, D4) and they’ve won their last six league games with three clean sheets. Their last defeat dates back to December 4, 2021 where they lost 1-0 to Real Betis.
The Catalan giants simply outclassed Los Granotes in their reverse fixture last September as Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong, and Ansu Fati all scored en route to the 3-0 win when Ronald Koeman was still in charge.
Betting Tip
It’s inevitable that Barcelona will win this one, according to the La Liga 2022 odds. The Catalan giants are priced at 1.44, while Levante are the underdogs at 6.40 and a draw is at 4.60 in the 1X2 market.
Moreover, Barcelona are expected to score majority of the goals and we predict a similar outcome like in their reverse fixture – making Over 3.00 @ 1.78 a solid alternative bet.
Having Barcelona on the menu is certainly not ideal for Levante as they’re fighting for their Spanish top-flight status. But if they can somehow make it competitive against their visitors, regardless of the outcome, that will be considered as a victory in itself.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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