Barça vs Levante: Preview

Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Barça look to build on a good performance in midweek and win a key league game against a tough opponent

FC Barcelona (2nd, 43pts) vs Levante UD (13th, 26pts)*

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*Points and positions at the time of writing on Saturday

Competition/Round: 2019-20 La Liga, Matchday 22

Barcelona Outs & Doubts: Luis Suárez, Neto, Ousmane Dembélé (out), Arturo Vidal (doubt)

Levante Outs & Doubts: Rober Pier, Iván López (out), Nemanja Radoja, Oier Olazábal, Enis Bardhi (doubt)

Date/Time: Sunday, February 2, 2020, 9pm CET/WAT (Barcelona & Nigeria), 8pm GMT (UK), 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 1.30am IST (India, Monday)

Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), SuperSport 7 (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), Not Available (India), others

How to stream: FuboTV (USA), beIN SPORTS CONNECT (USA & Canada), Premier Player (UK), Movistar+ (India), Facebook Live (India), others

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Following a strong Copa del Rey win over Leganés to reach the Spanish Cup quarterfinals, Barcelona are back in action in La Liga with what promises to be a difficult game against Levante at the Greatest Stadium on Earth. The winter transfer window is closed and Barça haven’t done any big business, and with young players leaving the squad is smaller but filled with big names and good options for Quique Setién.

The challenge now is to make this team as solid and creative as possible ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 against Napoli, which is fast approaching, but at the same time the Blaugrana need to keep pace with a rapidly improving Real Madrid team that just won the Madrid Derby against Atlético and look really strong right now.

This does not need to be a lost season. This team is too talented and the new coach is good enough to make them favorites for everything, so every game from now on needs to be a big step forward. Levante is a very nice test, and a strong win will give the team and the fans some good reasons for optimism.

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POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Barcelona (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Roberto, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba; Rakitic, De Jong, Arthur; Messi, Griezmann, Ansu Fati

Levante (3-4-1-2): Aitor; Cabaco, Postigo, Vezo; Miramón, Radoja, Campaña, Toño; Rochina; Morales, Martí

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PREDICTION

Levante always make it tough and tricky, but Barça will make it two wins in a row to end the week: 3-0 to the good guys.

Source: barcablaugranes.com