Levante vs Barcelona
Barcelona are back at the top of the La Liga table thanks to an impressive run of results. Lionel Messi and co. have won their last seven matches in a row and are once again blowing away their opposition in recent games. Their latest outing saw them fire five past Real Valladolid at the Camp Nou.
However, Barca still have some question marks away from home which need answering. They will look to do just that as they travel to Valencia to face Levante.
The Granotas are once again hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone this season after a rough stretch of La Liga 2019 results.
Talking Points
Levante slumping badly
After a bright start to the season which saw them win two of their first three matches, Levante have gone steadily downhill. They’ve won just one of their last seven league games — which came against bottom club Leganes — with four defeats and two draws.
To be fair, two of those four defeats came away to Real Madrid and Sevilla, and they put up a fight in both. They pulled two goals back against Real to lose 3-2, and it took Sevilla until the 86th minute to get their winner. However, they also lost to Real Betis and Espanyol, two of the bottom four sides.
As of this writing, Levante have yet to play at the Anoeta against Real Sociedad. But with La Real currently riding high in fifth, the La Liga 2019 odds anticipate another Levante defeat.
Levante scored the fourth-most goals in La Liga last season with 59, but they have found goals hard to come by in recent weeks. Since scoring six in their first four games, they have scored just four in their last six.
Roger Marti, last year’s top scorer with 13 goals, has a team-high three thus far, but all three have come from the penalty spot.
Messi still magical
Barcelona are on quite a run of late. They have won their last seven games in all competitions — five in La Liga — with their most recent victory coming in the form of a 5-1 demolition of Real Valladolid.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Barca’s current stretch of wins has coincided with Messi’s return to top form. The Argentine had arguably his best performance of the season to date against Valladolid as he scored two and assisted two of the team’s five goals.
Over his last six appearances, Messi has recorded five goals and five assists, which is remarkable for any other player but typical for him.
Luis Suarez, who saw his four-game streak with at least a goal snapped at Slavia Prague, also found the net. But despite scoring yet another goal, his performance was once again unconvincing as doubts persist about his place on the team.
While Barca have racked up the wins, they still have concerns playing away from home. Despite Messi’s brilliance, they laboured to a 2-1 win away to Slavia Prague in their most recent Champions League group game. They controlled just 51 per cent of possession and were thoroughly outshot by the Czech champions, 24-13.
On the bright side for Barca, though, Levante don’t figure to put up as tough a fight. The Catalans took care of lesser La Liga sides — Getafe (without Messi) and Eibar — with little fuss and should be able to do so again at Levante.
History
To the surprise of no one, Barcelona have historically dominated their head-to-head against Levante. Since 2004, they’ve won 21 of their 28 meetings, while Levante have won just three times.
However, two of those victories have come over the past 18 months. First, there was Levante’s famous 5-4 win at home back in 2018. They actually went up 5-1 in that match before Barcelona pulled three goals back in a comeback attempt that came up short. Barcelona got some revenge in their next visit to Estadi Ciutat de Valencia as they won, 5-0.
However, Levante once again shocked the Catalans in the Copa del Rey, where they came out on top 2-1 in the home leg. But Barca still went through after winning 3-0 at the Camp Nou.
It should be noted that Messi did not play in both losses against Levante. Moreover, he’s scored six goals in his last four matches against the Granotas.
Betting Tip
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Levante vs Barcelona | Barcelona Asian Handicap -1.25 @ 1.84 |
| November 2, 23:00 (GMT+8) |
SBOBET odds have Barcelona at 1.39 to pick up a sixth straight win, with Levante priced at 6.40 to score another huge home scalp.
I fully anticipate Barcelona to bounce back from their disappointing showing away at Slavia Prague. And with Messi in blistering form, they should pick up a comfortable win of at least two goals.
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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