Overview
Barcelona was knocked out of the top of La Liga by Real Madrid and even risked widening the gap to 5 points before round 25. However, Los Blancos' defeat to Osasuna gave Blaugrana a chance to correct their mistakes.
The Catalan team has just gone through a difficult time when losing to Atletico Madrid 0-4 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals, before continuing to fall 1-2 to Girona in the most recent round of La Liga.
The prospect of suffering a third consecutive defeat is unacceptable for Barcelona. Returning to their home ground in this match is of particular importance, especially when the opponent is only a Levante struggling in the relegation battle.
Head-to-head history is completely on Barcelona's side. The Camp Nou team has only lost 6 out of 46 encounters with Levante in all competitions, winning 33 matches. Therefore, it would be a big surprise if Barcelona could not win all 3 points in this match.
In the first leg of this season, Flick's team won a thrilling 3-2 victory. This is also a pair that regularly witnesses many goals, with a total of 19 goals in the last four encounters.
Levante entered the match after a three-match losing streak in La Liga, most recently a minimal 0-1 defeat to Villarreal in the middle of the week. This year's season is going very difficult for the team nicknamed Frogs.
After 24 rounds, Levante has only won 4 matches, drawn 6 matches and lost 14 matches, only has 18 points and is ranked 19th in the standings. They are 7 points behind Rayo Vallecano's safe position.
Although the season still has many rounds ahead, Levante is facing serious problems in defense. Conceding 41 goals - the most in the league - is a big concern for coach Luis Castro and his players.
However, Levante still has some matches that are considered easier in the near future. And a positive result against Barcelona, although very difficult, could become an important morale boost.
Personnel situation
Barcelona received a big boost in terms of force before this match, when both Marcus Rashford and Pedri have returned to training. This duo is likely to be on the registered squad list, although the possibility of starting is still not high.
Gavi has also reappeared on the training ground after a knee injury that forced him to be out of action for 5 months. The Spanish international is expected to be eligible to return to play in March. In the opposite direction, Andreas Christensen will be absent for a long time due to a knee injury.
Coach Hansi Flick is expected to make some adjustments in the starting lineup compared to the loss to Girona. Alejandro Balde is likely to return to the left-back position, while Robert Lewandowski may be arranged to play center forward from the start.
On Levante's side, Roger Brugue and Pablo Martinez are both unable to participate due to knee injuries. Unai Elgezabal is still having physical problems and his ability to play is still uncertain, while Kervin Arriaga continues to be suspended. This puts the away team at risk of missing up to 4 players in this away trip.
Etta Eyong continues to be on the reserve list in the match against Villarreal in the middle of the week. However, the Cameroonian international is likely to be given a chance to start when Levante faces Barcelona.
Expected lineup:
J. Garcia, Kounde, Cubarsi, E. Garcia, Balde, Fermin, De Jong, Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
Ryan, Toljan, De la Fuente, Moreno, Sanchez, Olasagasti, Raghouber, Tunde, Alvarez, Romero, Eyong.
The match between Barcelona and Levante takes place at 10:15 PM on February 22nd (Vietnam time).
