Levante vs Barcelona
It’s pretty clear to everyone that the La Liga landscape this season has been the closest it has been for a good while. Barcelona are still at the top of the table, but their reign at the top of Spanish football hasn’t come with its own set of cracks.
While the Blaugrana still haven’t firmly established their foothold at the top, they can definitely play to keep their lead by playing a strong Levante side at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
The visitors will have the definite advantage as they have prolific strikers ready to contribute to their squad. However, Levante have also impressed this season. They’ve made a run at the Champions League places during the season’s early days. They can definitely take the game to the Catalan leaders if they aren’t careful enough.
There are plenty of interesting La Liga 2018 news stories to cover, so join us as we dissect this matchup.
Talking Points
Barca badly need the three points
I have to say that compared to last season, Barcelona have had a couple of rough patches that they didn’t concede at this point of their title-winning campaign last season.
What hurts them the most was the four-game winless streak they endured in late September to early October. Barca’s draws against Girona, Athletic Bilbao and Valencia — together with their shocking 2-1 loss to Leganes — robbed them of points that could have given them some much-needed distance from the chasing pack.
However, their recent string of matches has ensured that they stay on top. Their complete dominance over neighbours Espanyol proved that they can still play dominant football with the talented XIs that they can field out on a regular basis. If they play their usual brand of football, they can obliterate any team in the league.
After all, they have two of the best attackers in La Liga ready to suit up and play for them. Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have now scored goals in double digits, and it’s highly unlikely that they’ll stop scoring against opposing defences any time soon.
It will be up to the rest of the team to provide both of their strikers enough defensive cover and supply them with crisp passes in order to perform their roles with ease. And looking at their recent performances, that is more than likely to happen.
Levante hope to keep the good times rolling
Levante have a different set of problems that they have to manage, but fans will agree that this is an exciting time for a club that has struggled to stay in the top flight. They are in the top six and are playing good football to help them stay competitive.
The club’s form didn’t have the best of starts to the season, but they had a memorable October where they won all of the possible 12 points they could have had in the month. The most fantastic of their victories was the away triumph they had against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, they have since struggled to keep a consistent winning streak as they alternated between wins, draws, and defeats over the past six weeks. They also need more consistent scoring from Roger Marti and Jose Luis Morales if they were to have any chance of putting Barcelona in more dire straits.
Some good performances from Raphael Dwamena could also help the Granotas. While the summer arrival’s poor performance hasn’t had anyone calling for his transfer yet, some good scoring from him would be much appreciated. Barcelona are already a tough team to play at home, so any kind of help they can get would help in their upset attempt.
History
Barcelona obviously have the advantage when it comes to the form table. Barcelona thrived in four of their last five games in all competitions. Many of the games they played over the past thirty days were against teams like PSV, Villareal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, the hosts have had inconsistent streaks that show their lack of depth. They managed to get points against Athletic Bilbao, Eibar and Huesca. However, their 1-3 loss to Real Sociedad was a tough pill to swallow.
Their recent head-to-heads have also been in the Blaugrana‘s favour. Of the last 22 games they have played, 17 were won by Barcelona. Levante managed to break the streak and get a win of their own, and that was an impressive 5-4 result in what was a goal bonanza at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
Betting Tip
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Levante vs Barcelona | Barcelona First Half Asian Handicap -0.75 @ 1.90 |
| December 17,2018 03:45 (GMT+8) |
I don’t see much reason why we should divert from the La Liga 2018 odds set by leading bookmakers such as SBOBET.
Barcelona seemingly have recovered from their rut, and a break from Champions League football means that they can focus on winning league games. The fact that Messi and Suarez will focus on getting league goals should make the game a lot harder for the hosts.
If you’re feeling confident of Barca’s chances, go for Barca’s highest Asian Handicap. However, the First Half Asian Handicap market would do for the discerning fan.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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