Just two injury concerns to cover here for FC Barcelona as they prepare to travel to Levante. Robert Lewandowski is a doubt while Marc-Andre ter Stegen remains sidelined. That is it, and that is all. So with a nearly fully fit squad, it’s on to the first team prediction. Or is it? Plenty of unavailable players, for multiple reasons, go here for more on that.
FC Barcelona at Levante FYIs
Kickoff: Saturday August 23, 9:30pm, Ciutat de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Google’s Result Probability: FC Barcelona 77% Draw 14% Levante 19%
Updated news on the unavailable players: go here
La Liga Standing, Form, Goal Differential: FC Barcelona 1st, 3 pts, W, +3 Levante 14th, 0 pts, L, -1
Levante are newly promoted from the Segunda Division this season, but they have faced Barca 45 times previously. As you might have guessed, Barca have dominated the series. They have 32 wins to Levante’s six.
And you know what that means, the total number of draws in this series is seven. Just as the series has been lopsided in favor of the Catalan club, pretty much everyone expects this match to continue that trend.
FC Barcelona Starting Lineup Prediction at Levante
Joan Garcia; Eric García, Ronald Araújo, Pau Cubarsí, Álex Baldé; Frenkie de Jong, Pedri, Lamine Yamal; Fermín López, Raphinha, Ferrán Torres
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter