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Barcelona travel to Levante in La Liga matchday 16

By Benjamin Barkworth

VALENCIA, SPAIN - MAY 13: Andres Iniesta and Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona react after Emmanuel Boateng of Levante UD scored his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Levante UD and FC Barcelona at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia on May 13, 2018 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
VALENCIA, SPAIN - MAY 13: Andres Iniesta and Philippe Coutinho of FC Barcelona react after Emmanuel Boateng of Levante UD scored his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Levante UD and FC Barcelona at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia on May 13, 2018 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
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The Catalans will be aiming for revenge after the 5-4 loss at this stadium last season ended their unbeaten season in the penultimate matchday.

Barcelona have recovered after their loss to Real Betis prior to the international break with seven points from the last three league matches including a 1-1 draw away at Atletico Madrid as well as a 4-0 away win over fierce rivals Espanyol. They also secured top place in the Champions League group as well as reaching the Copa del Rey last 16, where they will face Levante once again, so they are in good form.

Levante have been one of the surprises of the season as they started this matchday in sixth place. However, they have only six points from the last five games as their leaky defence is starting to hurt them with 10 goals conceded in those matches. They are overperforming in both defence and attack because they have scored 27 goals from 21.67 xG as well as conceding 25 goals from 30.07 xGA, per Understat. Therefore, they are likely to start falling down the table when they revert to the mean.

The Catalans have dominated this fixture in recent seasons because the 5-4 loss earlier this year was the only time they have lost to Granotas in the last 23 fixtures. There has been an average of 4.9 goals per game in the last 10 matches, so a high-scoring affair should be expected and Barca will want to make a statement after the disaster that happened at this stadium last season.

Paco Lopez has mainly used variations of a 3-5-2 formation this season, which could cause issues for Barcelona due to how effective it can be matching up with a 4-3-3 when an effective high press is utilised. However, Ousmane Dembele is the perfect weapon against this due to how dangerous he can be with space to run into. Barca will also have to be careful conceding free kick around the box because Levante have a specialist set piece taker in Enes Bardhi.

Rafinha and Samuel Umtiti are both out injured while Malcom, Sergi Roberto and Sergi Samper are all completing their recoveries. Barcelona have been able to cope relatively comfortably with the absence of these five so this match shouldn’t be any different. Jose Luis Morales is a doubt for this match which would be a blow for Levante due to him being their second highest goalscorer in the league with five goals, although they do have Real Madrid loanee, Borja Mayoral, to take his place.

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Lionel Messi should thrive in the space afforded by Levante due to their weak defensive shape. Arthur Melo would be an ideal choice for this match due to how he helps the team retain possession by circulating it effectively as well as occupying the right spaces, which would help keep up the pressure on Levante and, therefore, create openings. Ivan Rakitic deserves a rest as well, but it remains to be seen whether Ernesto Valverde is willing to rest him for a full match.