What: Spanish La Liga
Who: Barcelona vs Levante
When: Saturday 3rd December, 2011, at 19:00 UK time
Where: Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Last Preparation
Knowing that the first Clasico to be played is just a week away, Barcelona have just one more game’s “preparation” ahead of their visit to the Santiago Bernabeu. Josep Guardiola’s team will want to win well against surprise package Levante and ensure they head to the capital in the best possible spirits.
High profile wins over AC Milan and Rayo Vallecano sandwiched an unexpected 1-0 away loss to Getafe that caused disappointment in Catalonia, leaving the team six points behind league leaders Real Madrid. Naturally, Barcelona needed to respond, and it came at the expense of Rayo Vallecano via a 4-0 drubbing.
However, the night had its share of controversies as Gerard Pique earned his fifth straight yellow card, one that will see him miss this game, but crucially be in contention for El Clasico, a move that was not deliberate, according to Daniel Alves: “Once again everyone is looking at Barcelona very closely, everything we do is frowned upon. We have to focus on ourselves and ignore the comments from outside which are trying to destabilise us", said the Brazilian.
Slipping Down La Liga
Once the league leaders this season, those days are over now for Levante as the natural selection process took place and Real Madrid and Barcelona returned to rule to roost. However, Levante are still having a superb campaign by their standards – they are only five points short of the world’s strongest side – and will hope to continue it at one the most daunting stadiums, the Camp Nou.
Watching as Real Madrid destroyed town rivals Atletico Madrid and Barcelona succumbed to Getafe, Levante striker Arouna Kone interestingly engaged in a war of words with the Blaugrana, referring to Los Merengues as the better side of the two teams.
“At the moment, I feel that Real Madrid are better than Barcelona”, commented Kone. “They score four goals per game, Madrid’s forwards are very good and so they are now the most dangerous side in the league.”
The striker also admitted that his team could be helpless against Lionel Messi here though: “There is no tactic to stop Messi. You have to play as good as you can and hope that Messi is not at his best."
Recent form
Barcelona:
AC Milan 2-3 Barcelona (23/11; Champions League)
Getafe 1-0 Barcelona (26/11; La Liga)
Barcelona 4-0 Rayo Vallecano (29/11; La Liga)
Levante:
Levante 0-2 Valencia (05/11; La Liga)
Atletico Madrid 3-2 Levante (20/11; La Liga)
Levante 4-0 Sporting Gijon (27/11; La Liga)
Key absences
Barcelona: Ibrahim Afellay; Adriano; Gerard Pique (suspended)
Levante: Juanlu (doubt); Juanfran (doubt); Jose Barkero (suspended)
Players to watch
Barcelona – Alexis Sanchez: The Chilean came to life against Rayo Vallecano and his brace was well deserved. Having had some niggling injuries lately, Sanchez’ form appears to be picking up as he prepares for El Clasico next week.
Levante – Gustavo Munua: The goalkeeper will probably be pummeled by a hefty number of shots as Barcelona control this match from head to toe. And so Munua will need to be at his absolute best if his team are to return home with even a point.
Match Prediction
Barcelona’s slip-ups never seem to last, and after dispatching Rayo Vallecano, the next victims will be Levante. At the Camp Nou, where no team has managed to score so far in the league, the spoils go to the Catalans. Barcelona 4-0 Levante.
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