Barcelona Vs. Levante: Watch Live Stream Online, Preview, Prediction, Team News
When and Where: The La Liga match from the Ciutat de Valencia kicks-off at 4 p.m. ET. Live streaming coverage of the game will be available on ESPN3.
Preview: Barcelona will be desperate to record their 11th straight La Liga victory and keep the pressure on Real Madrid when they travel to Valencia to play Levante on Saturday. With just four points between the two giants at the summit of the table, Barcelona knows that they cannot afford to slip-up before El Clasico next weekend.
But with that match sandwiched between the two legs of Barcelona's Champions League semi-final with Chelsea, coach Pep Guardiola will have to ensure that his side remain in peak physical condition for the crucial run of fixtures.
Yet, despite the temptation to let some of his stars have the night off against Levante, Guardiola has said that that is something which he cannot afford.
We know it's difficult but we want to extend our league challenge and to do that we have to play the best team we can, he said, according to the official Barcelona website.
If the difference was ten points we could make one competition a priority, but given the situation we are in, the game with Levante is more important.
And Barcelona cannot afford to take Levante lightly. Juan Ignacio Martinez's side have been the surprise package of the season in La Liga and have far exceeded their pre-season goal of merely staying in the division.
While their form has tailed off a little of late, there is still much to play for, with Levante sitting just two points off a Champions League position.
Team News: Pep Guardiola showed his tactical nous once more on Tuesday as he played what amounted to a 1-2-3-4 reverse pyramid formation (check out this excellent video illustration here). But, with Dani Alves fit to return, it is likely that Barcelona will revert to their more conventional shape at Levante.
Martinez made five changes to the Levante side that lost to Sporting Gijon on Wednesday, but is expected to name a more familiar side against Barcelona.
Prediction: It is asking a lot for Barcelona to keep their winning run going against Levante, with the match immediately precedding the biggest week of their season to date. But the determination to avoid a slip-up before El Clasico should be sufficient motivation to avoid a drop-off in the players' performances.
Barcelona looked good against Getafe in the week and should do what is necessary to ensure a thrilling El Clasico next week.
Levante 0-2 Barcelona
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