Barcelona will face Levante in a must-win encounter of Spanish Liga 2020-21 to find vital 3 points in the search of title glory. Both sides are coming off a draw against Atletico and Alaves respectively.
Match Timings: May 12, 1:30 AM IST
Team Preview
Fight for the Spanish Liga title is going hard and it’s entering into another week. With three games in hand, Barcelona will now make travel to Estadio Ciudad de Valencia to take on Levante. Ronald Koeman's side can take the first position for a temporary period if they bag three points from this game. After playing a goalless draw against title rivals Atletico, Barcelona are now 2 points behind to the first spot and with three points, they will take a one-point advantage over Atletico. One bad game can spoil the part for Atletico, Barcelona and Real Madrid. All four sides appeared in a draw in previous encounters last week and this title race become more interesting.
Barcelona has one big advantage as they have the better goal difference among all teams which can help them out at the last moment. Koeman's are two points behind leaders Atletico and leaders will also face Sociedad in their mid-week encounter. If Atletico loses, Barcelona can find the big boost to their title glory.
The Catalan giants will face Celta Vigo and Eibar in their final two matches and it’s expected they will bag all three points. 2-1 defeat against Granada will haunt them till the end. They have picked up 37 points from their 17 away matches in the top-flight. Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati will be the clear absentees for the title challengers through injury. Sergio Busquets will also miss out due to the facial injury. Sergi Roberto will take the position in midfield. Antoine Griezmann will take the forward role with Lionel Messi.
Meanwhile, Levante has nothing to lose here. After losing four consecutive matches, they played out a competitive 2-2 draw against Alaves last week. They had a chance to take all three points after double strikes from Jose Luis Morales but Joselu equalised for Alaves. Paco Lopez's side have 39 points in the pocket with nine wins and 12 draws. They are winless from the last five matches and currently stand 14th in points table.
The Frogs would look to better their position this year. They finished 15th in the previous two editions. Levante’s home record is not convincing as they have won five, and drawn seven out of their 17 home games. Hosts will again be without the services of Jose Campana, Nemanja Radoja and Nikola Vukcevic. Ruben Vezo, Enis Bardhi and Roger Marti might take the role in starting eleven. Morales, Jorge de Frutos, and Dani Gomez would continue their position.
Possible Lineups & Current Form
Levante
Cardenas; Miramon, Vezo, Rober, Clerc; De Frutos, Malsa, Bardhi, Morales; Gomez, Roger Marti
Spanish Liga Form: W L L L L D
Barcelona
Ter Stegen; Araujo, Pique, Lenglet; Dest, Roberto, De Jong, Pedri, Alba; Griezmann, Messi
Spanish Liga Form: L W W L W D
Key Players
Levante
Roger Marti
Morales
Barcelona
Lionel Messi
Griezmann
