Barcelona are back in LaLiga Santander action on Sunday evening as they pay a visit to Levante at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia. This is a ground where the Catalan club have struggled in recent years, only winning on one of their past five visits, but Levante did come into this weekend second bottom in the standings. Therefore, Xavi will hope his Barcelona side can earn another comfortable three points.
Levante vs Barcelona LIVE SCORE: 0-0
This is the start of our Levante vs Barcelona live blog, with all the updates from this LaLiga Santander game following on from here. We’ll have team news before minute-by-minute updates, so follow along with us.
Minute 1: Kick off in Levante vs Barcelona!
Here we go then! We have kick off in the city of Valencia. Barcelona start the game in possession and will look to keep up their impressive run of form in LaLiga Santander.
19:55 BST: The players wait in the tunnel
It’s almost time for the Levante and Barcelona players to walk out at this atmospheric Estadi Ciutat de Valencia. Kick off is just around the corner and it should be a fun one!
19:35 BST: Levante’s impressive record against the top teams
Levante have done well against the giants of LaLiga Santander this season, especially at home. They held both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to draws at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia earlier in the campaign, while they even won away at Atletico Madrid too.
19:15 BST: It’s the lilac kit for Barcelona
Barcelona will be wearing their lilac kit for this game at Levante, since their home colours match the Blaugrana stripes of the team from Valencia. Barcelona have shared a social media video of the shirts laid out in the dressing room.
18:55 BST: The Levante line-up is out too
We also know the Levante line-up for this game, with the Granotas sticking with the back five system they’ve been using of late. They’re starting with: Cardenas; Miramon, Rober Pier, Postigo, Vezo, Son; Radoja, Pepelu, Campana; Morales, Roger Marti.
18:40 BST: The Barcelona starting XI is out and Pedri is rested
Barcelona have confirmed their starting line-up for tonight’s LaLiga Santander game and the headline is that Pedri is given a rest. The team that will play is made up of: Ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Araujo, Eric Garcia, Jordi Alba; Frenkie de Jong, Busquets, Nico; Dembele, Aubameyang, Ferran Torres.
18:15 BST: The Estadi Ciutat de Valencia is ready
Levante‘s home ground is ready for this one. Flags of the Valencian Community have been placed on the seats, with the club looking to create a special atmosphere for this match where a win would be huge for their survival hopes.
17:50 BST: It’s Munuera Montero in the middle
Jose Luis Munuera Montero will be the referee for this Levante vs Barcelona game. He has refereed two Barcelona matches already this season and the Catalan club lost both of them by 3-2 scorelines after extra time, with one being the Supercopa de Espana loss to Real Madrid and the other their Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Athletic Club.
17:30 BST: Barcelona’s poor form away at Levante
This isn’t an away day that Barcelona have enjoyed of late. They have only won on one of their past five trips to the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia, which was famously the stadium where their hopes of an unbeaten season were ended in the penultimate round of the 2017/18 campaign, when they lost 5-4.
17:10 BST: What are the Levante and Barcelona predicted line-ups?
Both teams have a few injury concerns, but will still be able to name strong starting XIs. In Levante‘s case, they’re expected to start with: Dani Cardenas; Jorge Miramon, Rober Pier, Sergio Postigo, Ruben Vezo, Son; Jose Campana, Pepelu; Jose Luis Morales, Roger Marti. As for Barcelona, their probable starting XI is: Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Ronald Araujo, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba; Pedri, Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong; Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Ferran Torres.
16:50 BST: When does Levante vs Barcelona start? And where can you watch it?
This Sunday’s match between Levante and Barcelona kicks off at 21:00 CEST, the local time in Spain. This is 20:00 BST in the UK, where it’ll be on LaLigaTV, while that is 15:00 ET / 12:00 PT in the USA, where it’ll be broadcast on ESPN+.
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