Barça v Levante: Did you know?
FC Barcelona take on Levante UD this Sunday 22 at 4.15 pm CET at Spotify Camp Nou. It's a homecoming after two painful away trips (to Atlético Madrid and Girona), and the Catalans are eager to bounce back and get back to winning ways. As for the visitors, they arrive in Barcelona in poor form, having lost their last three league matches and sitting second from bottom in the table.
Unbeaten at home
At home, FC Barcelona have been a points-collecting machine. Flick’s side are the only team in the league with a perfect record on home turf, with 11 wins from 11 matches. They have also scored 34 goals and conceded just five at three (!) different stadiums: Spotify Camp Nou, the Estadi Olimpic and the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
Against their next opponents, Levante, Barça have won every single home league meeting in history, a perfect 16 victories from 16 matches.
Darn that woodwork!
Bad luck has been a constant companion at Barça this season. The team have hit the post or crossbar a total of 25 times in the league alone, more than any other team across Europe’s top five leagues, and are just one hit away from matching last season’s figure of 26, which was an extraordinarily high number in itself.
Warning call
Despite Levante’s current struggles, they are not a team to be taken lightly. Proof of this came in the most recent encounter back in August, when Barça had to battle hard to claim victory.
Flick’s side visited the Ciutat de València in the second round of the competition and went into half-time 2–0 down, before mounting a second-half comeback with three goals, the winner coming in stoppage time. A precedent that serves as a clear warning.
Levante in deep trouble
Both teams are desperate to make up for dropped points. Barça are coming off losing top spot in La Liga after losing at Girona, and could be no better way to respond than by taking all three points in front of their fans.
Meanwhile, Luis Castro’s side are in serious trouble in the table, sitting second from bottom on 18 points and seven points adrift of safety. They need to start picking up wins if they are to stand a chance in the final run-in.