Overview
Levante is Barcelona's next challenge, a team that is having an impressive start to the 2026-2027 season.
Levante has won 5 points after 4 matches, ranking 11th in the standings. Luis Castro's team started with a 0-3 defeat to Espanyol, then drew with Osasuna 1-1 to get their first point. They continued to impress when defeating Real Betis 5-2, before drawing with Malaga 0-0 in the most recent match.
However, head-to-head history is not on Levante's side. They have only won 6 of their last 47 encounters with Barcelona in all competitions. Barcelona has also won all 4 recent encounters.
However, Levante still has reason to hope to create a surprise. Two of the last four encounters in La Liga ended with a close gap, when Barcelona won 3-2 respectively. The most recent match between the two teams at Levante in May 2021 also took place excitingly with a 3-3 draw. Notably, all 6 defeats of Barcelona against Levante took place away from home.
Barcelona entered the match with completely opposite form. Hansi Flick's team just had an impressive Champions League start when they crushed Feyenoord 5-1. After 5 matches in all competitions this season, the defending champion Spain has scored 22 goals.
In La Liga, Barcelona successively defeated Elche 5-0, Athletic Bilbao 2-0, Rayo Vallecano 5-2 and Valencia 5-0. Attacking power is the most prominent highlight of the Catalan team.
Barcelona leads the league table with 12 absolute points before round 5 and aims to win 3 more victories against Levante, Racing de Santander and Sevilla before entering the first international break of the season.
Personnel situation
Levante will need to continue to monitor Karl Etta Eyong's situation, but in general, the home team has a fairly stable force before the confrontation with the defending champion.
Levante's squad is expected to not have many changes. Roger Brugue, who has scored 2 goals in 3 appearances this season, is likely to continue to take the right wing position. Ivan Romero has not yet scored his first goal but is expected to continue to be present in the attack, while Enzo Bardeli is also a notable choice in the starting lineup.
On Barcelona's side, Frenkie de Jong and Rooney Bardghji are both absent due to knee injuries. Meanwhile, Eric Garcia is likely to play with a protective mask after facial injuries in the match against Valencia.
Possessing a abundant force, Hansi Flick is expected to rotate the squad after the 5-1 victory over Feyenoord in the Champions League. Eric Garcia, Gerard Martin, Xavi Espart, Fermin Lopez and Anthony Gordon may be given the opportunity to start. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha are also likely to be in the starting lineup.
Expected lineup:
Ryan, Perez, Dela, Mandi, Sanchez, Rey, Brugue, Bardeli, Olasgasti, Fernandez, Romero.
J. Garcia, E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Martin, Espart, Fermin, Rodri, Pedri, Yamal, Raphinha, Gordon.
The match between Levante and Barcelona takes place at 9:15 PM on September 13th (Vietnam time).
