After dropping three points against Cádiz last week, Ronald Koeman and Barcelona currently sit in 9th in the La Liga table. Their opponent, Levante, is tied for last place with Osasuna and Huesca, all on 11 points. Yet, this match is all about the Blaugrana.
I often try to speak to the talent of the opposition – Cádiz deserved their result last week – but Levante is a team that Barcelona must feel superiority over. Defensively, the Valencian side are willing to play for a draw, as they have done in four of their last five matches.
History be damned, but once again, Koeman would make history if he failed to get a result against Levante. Barcelona have won 18 out of 18 matches at the Camp Nou against them.
But Koeman’s lack of results are becoming historic in its own right. His four wins, two draws, and four losses is the worst start for a Barcelona manager in his first 10 La Liga matches since Rinus Michels in 1971 (two wins, three draws, five losses). Michels did turn things around in future seasons, but Koeman will not be given the same patience from a new board or from socios.
As Francesc spoke about on the latest edition of The Barcelona Podcast, the backlash for Barcelona managers tends to happen in Catalonia like an avalanche. It only takes a few rumblings from the local papers and a manager is under fire. Some would argue that Koeman is already there, but a loss against Levante would take questions about his job and turn them into declarations of skepticism.
Koeman’s press conference yesterday was that of a manager that is starting to feel his seat heating up. He denied the recent news that players have fallen out of love with his system (4-2-3-1), but there is certainly nothing in the players’ performances that indicate that they are enjoying their football.
For as supported as Koeman may feel by the squad, Messi and company don’t like losing. All Messi has known in his career is winning, and this recent run of form is a nightmare to any presidential candidate hoping to convince him to stay.
Against Levante, who will likely defend deep near their own net, Barcelona will need to create tons of chances. They will have plenty of possession to do so, but the chances haven’t been the problem. The issue has been the finishing, and getting some goals from open play could go a long to help a few players find their form for three La Liga games this week.
Barcelona are missing Piqué, Roberto, Fati and Dembélé, but Levante are without a few of their key pieces as well. José Campaña and Enis Bardhi, two of the team’s better players, are expected to be out. There has been tons of rotation under Paco López this season, but expect most of the squad that beat Getafe 3-0 last week to keep their places.
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): ter Stegen; Alba, Lenglet, Araújo, Dest; de Jong, Busquets; Pedri, Coutinho, Griezmann; Messi
Levante (4-4-2): Fernández; Clerc, Vezo, Postigo, Coke; de Frutos, Melero, Vukcevic, Rochina; Martí, Gómez
Dan Hilton is an American journalist, broadcaster, and current Editor-in-Chief of BarcaBlog. Extensive work as a play-by-play broadcaster, producer behind the scenes, and quite average player in his younger years has given him a well-rounded and informative perspective on the sport. Alongside BarcaBlog founder Francesc, Dan started The Barcelona Podcast in 2017
