Barcelona will look to extend their winning streak and notch another win as they take Levante who are at the bottom of the La Liga table. The last time these two teams met it was a 4-1 victory for the Catalans back in September.
Form
Is there any team hotter in Europe than Barcelona right now? Probably not. The Catalans are cruising through any team and just can't stop winning. Midweek they put a lashing on Gary Neville and Valencia as Barcelona put seven goals in the back of the net in the first leg of the semi-final of the Copa Del Rey. It took four goals from Luis Suarez and a hattrick from Lionel Messi for the Catalans as they put the tie to rest before the second tie even began.
After this fixture Barcelona will play the second leg at Valencia but with a 7-0 aggregate lead, it looks to be a walk in the park for Barcelona. In La Liga they will be looking to keep their position at the top of the table. Barcelona are tied with second place Atletico Madrid at 51 points but the Catalans have two games in hand over Atletico. If they get wins from both of those two extra games they will have a six point gap and that may be enough to keep them at the top for the rest of the season.
While Barcelona are at the top of the table, Levante are the exact opposite. Levante sit 20th and last in the La Liga table with 17 points and are five points behind 17th Espanyol. After a key win against also relegation-stricken Las Palmas, Levante were dispatched by Sevilla. But they have had a solid start to 2016 as they have picked up two wins so far.
Although two wins don't seem to be a lot, for a team at the bottom of the table six points seem like gold at this point. Levante also made a January signing splash by signing striker Giuseppe Rossi from Fiorentina on loan. Although it is just a loan, they will be hoping he can help them out of the relegation zone. They will have two tough fixtures back to back as they face Barcelona who are on fire and running through everyone, and they will face Eibar who are right outside of the European positions in the table.
Team News
Levante will be shorthanded coming into this game as Juanfran, Pedro Lopez, Victor Casadesus, Jose Mari and Ruben Garcia are all expected to miss the clash.
There are no new injuries to Barcelona and Luis Enrique will have his regular squad to select from.
What They're Saying
"But I believe the best is yet to come." said Enrique when asked about his team's form (via ESPNFC and Futbol.com).
"We are in a phase of the competition where results are decisive. It will be difficult to win." Enrique also said (via ESPNFC and Futbol.com).
Prediction
Levante have played well but Barcelona are just purely on fire right now and it looks like the Catalans will be winning the thee three points again to extend their lead atop the La Liga table.