Levante vs FC Barcelona

vs

Date: Sunday, the 20th of September
Stadium: Ciudad de Valencia
City: Valencia
Competition: League - La Liga Round 4
Referee: González González, José Luis


Levante are currently in the bottom of the league 0 victories, 5 conceded, 0 goals scored
Barcelona currently top of the league 3 victories, 0 goals, conceded 6 scored.

Levante have usually given us trouble away from home but after losing Navas and many other players they are not the same threat anymore.

What makes this match very trick is that it's the first of 4 matches we will be playing WITHIN just 10 days our fourth match being against PSG away.. so would we rest more players? sub out early? or will enrique have the balls to rest Messi??

MY predicted lineup :
(please feel free to include your own)

--------------Bravo
Douglas---Pique---Mathieu---Alba
--------------Buscuit
--------Rakitic-------Iniesta
---------------Messi
--------Pedro-------Neymar

I predict a simple 2-0 win

I imagine Pedro starts this one and I imagine we see basically what you have there.

Still dont think Douglas will start a game though.

I know Levante arent going well but their pitch IRRC is small and the grass very bad. I can picture some struggles if we dont show them respect.

I would like the see an aerially strong line up to deal with the long balls Levante will throw at us. I would actually like to see Pique, Bartra and Mathieu with I guess Adriano, or Montoya at rightback.

Pitch conditions and the mega bus Levante will be parking will make this a nerv-wrecking game for sure. I expect something like the APOEL game.

Lucho should please field an experienced line-up..munir should be dropped for pedro, i reckon alba should also be replaced by adriano..is it just me or has the copa final last season ruined the way people now percieve bartra as a defender? Maybe even lucho?

Adriano wont play as he played midweek and Alba has gotten one week of rest.

one injury could ruin us as i've said we play 4 games in a matter of just 10 days, 3 being la liga's and one being against PSG away from home.
we should maintain fitness to the highest possibility
i can see adriano and alves being rested for the malaga game wednesday
and early substitutes for neymar / iniesta / possibly messi

Bartra not in the squad yet again. And Vermaelen isn't even fit yet.

I don't see how he'll get playing time. Lucho has fooled us with the "Mascherano in midfield" stuff. He ain't benching Busi, Rakitic or Iniesta for a starting spot and as a sub for Busquets in easier games we'll most likely see Samper rather than Masche. He remains a CB under Lucho which means Bartra is now 5th choice CB with 4 senior defenders ahead of him. General Lucho not buying the Fartra hype train.

Rafinha not included because of tigh discomfort by the way.

Our midfield starters were rested against APOEL so I expect to see us dominate Levante.

Fußball wrote:Bartra not in the squad yet again. And Vermaelen isn't even fit yet.

I don't see how he'll get playing time. Lucho has fooled us with the "Mascherano in midfield" stuff. He ain't benching Busi, Rakitic or Iniesta for a starting spot and as a sub for Busquets in easier games we'll most likely see Samper rather than Masche. He remains a CB under Lucho which means Bartra is now 5th choice CB with 4 senior defenders ahead of him. General Lucho not buying the Fartra hype train.

Rafinha not included because of tigh discomfort by the way.

Well to be fair to him, I never heard him say he would use Mascherano as a midfielder. I think I heard him say he can play there. Slightly different.

What Bartra hype train though? Only the obvious fact he is better than Mascherano?

Line up: Bravo, Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alba, Busquets, Rakitić, Iniesta, Neymar, Pedro and Messi

Douglas misses out on the bench.

This barca! There's a strange feeling bout them.

Rakitic showing why he's there, with Xavi it would probably be 1-1 now.

Playing like chit. But I blame the pitch.

Missi with a peno miss lol

Also Nerman is the only one upfront who provides any kind of movement without the ball. Makes really nice runs. Can't wait for Suarez to do the same instead of Pedro being his usual invisible self.

Playing Pedro and Dani Alves on that right hand side pretty much paralyses that side of the pitch for Barcelona.

Oh yeah, Alves having a horror show.

Neymar seems to be in god mode this season, really impressed along with Rak..barca playing like shit tho!

Barca playing diffwrently, but can't call that a shit considering they were usually suffering in this pitch past several seasons.

why was neymar subed?
just tuned into the game

It was a caution. He fell on his back where he injured in the World Cup.

Kalinixta

Mathieu really shaky. Hope he ups his game against tougher opposition.

Eucharisto

Still can't understand the combined CB signing for €40 millions. One of them a want-away player still injured from last season and the other one a declining converted LB who makes Mascherano look like Beckenbauer on god mode.

0 goals conceded, neither can I.

lol. reading the comments here. 'playing like shit', 'Alves having a horrorshow', but I see the scoreline is 5:0.

La Liga isn't that good is it. Would be interested to read stats about how many seconds on the ball Barca players get from Levante until they are closed down and challenged (I'm going to say... infinite), as opposed to how many seconds Bayern players get on the ball against Hamburg (maybe half a second?).