The Matchday 2 clash in La Liga between Levante and Barcelona will take place on August 23 at the Ciudad de Valencia Stadium. Levante vs. Barcelona: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Levante
The team returned to Spain's top division and immediately suffered a defeat, losing away to Alaves (1-2). It's worth noting that Levante had a chance to draw, but conceded the decisive goal in the 92nd minute. Interestingly, prior to this, the club was on a small two-match winning streak in La Liga.
- Three or more goals have been scored in Levante's last five matches in La Liga.
- Both teams scored in 8 of the last 9 league games involving the club.
- At home, the Valencians have not lost in 5 of their last 7 La Liga matches (4 wins, 1 draw).
Predicted lineup for Levante (5-4-1)
Alfonso Pastor – Manu Sanchez, Jorge Cabello, Unai Elgezabal, Jeremy Toljan, Adrian de la Fuente – Brugui, Oriol Rey, Pablo Martinez, Victor Garcia – Ivan Romero.
Due to injuries, the main goalkeeper Alfonso Pastor, midfielders Jon Olasagasti and Kervin Arriaga, as well as defender Alan Matturro, are unavailable.
Barcelona
The Catalans immediately topped the standings by thrashing Mallorca away 3-0. By the middle of the first half, the club was leading by two goals. Then the islanders were reduced to nine men, and Hans Flick's side calmly saw out the match. Notably, Barcelona has now won eight of their last nine La Liga matches.
- In their last 19 La Liga matches, the Catalans have won 17 times.
- At least 3 goals have been scored in 5 of Barcelona's last 6 league games.
- The club is on an 8-match winning streak away in La Liga.
Predicted lineup for Barcelona (4-3-3)
Joan Garcia – Ronald Araujo, Pau Cubarsi, Alex Balde, Eric Garcia – Fermin Lopez, Pedri, Frenkie de Jong – Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha Dias.
Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and defender Dani Rodriguez will not play due to injuries. Forward Robert Lewandowski's participation is doubtful due to a knock.
Referee
Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez (Spain)
Matches – 19 (La Liga, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 103;
Average yellow cards per match – 5.4;
Red cards shown – 4;
Average fouls per match – 27;
Penalties – 37%.
Match Prediction: Levante vs. Barcelona
The favorite for the upcoming match is clear. Hans Flick's side is in incredible form, as confirmed in the first round with a resounding away victory. The Catalans have not lost away in La Liga for 12 matches (9 wins, 3 draws). Additionally, in their last three away games, Barcelona has won with a clean sheet and a margin of 2 or 3 goals.
Levante will find it difficult to stop the attacking potential of the visitors. It will be hard even to score against the Catalans, who have conceded just 1 goal in their last five away La Liga matches. Of course, the Valencians will try to take points from the leader at home, but when they played in La Liga before, they rarely managed to draw against top group opponents. Also, in the last five head-to-head La Liga meetings, Levante only managed to draw once against Barcelona, with the Catalans winning the other four encounters.
My prediction – Barcelona with a handicap (-1.5)
