Barcelona vs Levante
Who would’ve thought that at this point of the La Liga season, Barcelona and Levante are only separated by three points?
Well, certainly not this SBOTOP writer as I had Barcelona at least in the top three since they are keen to reclaim the title after losing it to Real Madrid last season.
However, times are changing and here we are. Instead of being seen as a championship contender, Barcelona are in the middle placed ninth with only 14 points after 12 matchdays.
The difference between them and the 17th-placed Levante is not far off as the latter has 11 points and they have yet to be beaten in their last six games.
Paco Lopez’s men had a terrific stretch by their standards and they are coming off of a victory in the last time out, so momentum is slightly tilted on their side as we look ahead for this weekend’s clash at Camp Nou.
The pressure is on for the Catalan giants as they are expected to give the fans a positive result, because another bad one here would further send their title aspirations into an abyss.
Talking Points
Can Barcelona finally break through?
Just when I thought that Barca are getting back to their winning ways, a poor run of results from last week sent them back crashing to Earth.
After enjoying a three-game winning streak, the Catalan giants suffered back-to-back defeats against Cadiz and Juventus.
Cadiz surprised everyone when Alvaro Gimenez drew first blood in just within 10 minutes, and then it was followed up by a goal from team captain Alvaro Negredo during the 63rd minute.
Barca did have their share of chances in that game as they outshot Cadiz 21-7, but only eight of them were on target and the only score that they got was an own goal from Pedro Alcala.
Days later, they were thrashed by Juventus with a 3-0 scoreline, which saw their 38-game winning streak at home in the Champions League snapped.
Cristiano Ronaldo got the best of Lionel Messi at the time as Barcelona’s youth-laden attacking front didn’t produce the goods.
Coming into this match, Barcelona remain handicapped with injuries.
Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Gerard Pique, and Sergi Roberto are still recovering from long-term knocks, which simply means that Lionel Messi needs to weave his magic and produce numerous La Liga 2020 highlights.
Levante are a tough nut to crack
Barcelona won’t have it easy this upcoming weekend as Levante are quite a stubborn side.
Los Granotas will be coming in with confidence given that they have yet to lose in their last six matches.
Since losing to Athletic Bilbao last October, Levante tallied five straight 1-1 draws against some of La Liga’s lower-tier teams.
Just last week, Levante proved doubters wrong by crushing Getafe with a 3-0 tally, as the latter was reduced to 10 men during the seventh minute.
For Paco Lopez’s side to have a chance this weekend, leading scorer Jose Luis Morales would need to add to his total.
The 33-year-old winger has punched in four goals and one assists so far, but he has yet to score for them in over a month now.
History
While Barcelona own the major advantage in the overall head-to-heads, Levante have shown the capability to win against them from time to time.
In their 30 matches together, Barcelona won in 22 occasions, while Levante won four times along with four draws.
Two of those four wins came from January and November 2019 where Levante defeated Barcelona 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.
But after their November 2019 fixture, Barcelona exacted their revenge with a 2-1 tally in their last meeting on February 2020 as Ansu Fati scored a brace.
Betting Tip
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Barcelona vs Levante | Barcelona Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.68 |
| December 14, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
Despite all of Barcelona’s problems, they are still heavily favoured by the La Liga 2020 odds to win in this upcoming fixture.
The Catalan giants are priced at 1.24 to win, while Levante are pegged at 12.50 and chances for a draw are at 5.60 in the 1X2 market.
Barcelona lately have had their share of struggles in finding the back of the net. While it is tempting to go for Over 2.50 @ 2.08, going for Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.77 looks safer as I’d expect Levante to score at least once.
Ronald Koeman’s side definitely has the personnel to be a championship team, which is why it’s comical to see them struggling against the lower-tier teams.
Furthermore, Barcelona would need to get their act right quickly and they should easily dispatch their gritty visitors in this weekend’s contest.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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