Levante vs Barcelona Prediction: Yamal to pepper Levante goal in shots

Our Madrid-based La Liga betting expert has started the season off in red-hot form with five winners from six bets through the opening week in Spain. He starts his Gameweek 2 coverage with the Saturday evening clash between Levante and Barcelona, which is set to kick-off at 20:30 and will be broadcast live on Disney+ in the UK.

Mark Sochon has his match preview here on Betfred Insights and of course - those all-important Levante vs Barcelona Predictions...

You can check out all of the Football Odds we offer over at betfred.com

Barcelona are in Valencia this Saturday in La Liga, with newly promoted Levante providing the opposition on the second weekend. 

The Catalans requested three straight away games to start the season, while construction work continues at Camp Nou. They'll be hoping to have nine points on the board by the time they finally return home in September. 

A positive start was made in Mallorca as their title defence got underway last weekend. After only seven minutes, Lamine Yamal set up Raphinha for the opening goal. It was almost as if Barça, who hit 174 goals in all competitions last term, had not been away. 

The first half in Palma proceeded to be a hugely controversial affair. The hosts were left furious when the champions scored a second goal through Ferran Torres while their captain Antonio Raillo was on the ground nursing a head injury. The Balearic Islanders then imploded, with Manu Morlanes and Vedat Muriqi both receiving red cards before the break. 

Given that, it was surprising that it took Barça until the 94th minute to add a third goal. It was worth the wait though, with a trademark strike from Yamal sealing a comfortable 3-0 victory. 

Having also netted 20 times in pre-season, there is a lot of positivity surrounding Hansi Flick's side right now. Unlike the Madrid clubs, they've returned from a long break refreshed, and looking sharp, having not taken part in the Club World Cup. There's also much more continuity in their squad, with goalkeeper Joan García the only new face in their starting lineup on matchday one. 

Confidence will be sky-high heading into this fixture against a Levante side that were beaten 2-1 by Alavés in their first top-flight game in three years. 

They set up with a conservative 5-4-1 system at Mendizorrotza, but looked to be heading for a point when full-back Jeremy Toljan fired home a second-half equaliser. However, they were caught out at the death as Nahuel Tenaglia scored a stoppage-time winner for their hosts. 

As is the case with the other promoted clubs, all of whom face 'big three' opposition this weekend, Levante are expected to struggle. Getting good results at the Estadi Ciutat de València is going to be key to their chances. 

They won the 2024/25 Segunda División largely thanks to their impressive home form. Only one side defeated them in front of their own fans last term, while Julián Calero's side won seven of their final eight in Valencia to clinch the title. 

A steep learning curve is likely over the coming weeks and months, both for many of their players and their coach. Calero, a former policeman, has worked his way up the leagues the hard way since taking his first managerial job in 2009. He won't have faced many challenges as steep as this one, as he prepares to conjure up a game plan to at least restrict Barça's star-studded attack as much as possible. 

They've made nine additions this summer, with five of those being loanees, including Alan Matturro and Manu Sánchez. Their squad still looks a little bit light in terms of quality though, with fresh movement expected before the window shuts. 

Team News: 

These two clubs have both had registration issues in August, and Levante still haven't got Goduine Koyalipou, Jon Ander Olasagasti, Kervin Arriaga or Iker Losada formally authorised by La Liga. That could potentially change in the hours before kick-off though, as we saw last weekend when Barcelona registered García and Marcus Rashford on the day of their opening fixture. 

Arriaga and Koyalipou are both injury concerns in any case, while young centre-back Matturro has also been ruled out. The hosts are again expected to set up with a five-man defensive line, with Roger Brugué and Iván Romero potentially offering their main goal threat on the break. 

As for the visitors, Flick has no major absentees, with the exception of the injured Marc-André ter Stegen, although Frenkie de Jong hasn't trained fully this week which may see the Dutchman drop to the bench. 

Robert Lewandowski is fit again, but may only feature in the second half, with Ferran Torres likely to continue up front. Dani Olmo and Jules Koundé are also strong candidates to come into the side, while Rashford is expected to be on the bench once more.

Match Odds: 

Barcelona are priced at just 1/4 to win this game. However, they have historically struggled on this ground, losing on three of their last six visits. If you see that trend continuing, you can back Levante to triumph at 10/1, while the Draw is priced at 5/1. 

Both teams to score is available at 8/11, while you can back there to be Over 3.5 goals in the game at 10/11. Meanwhile, Barça are priced at 4/5 to score over 2.5 goals for the second weekend running. 

While there's a degree of uncertainty as to the striker and attacking midfield positions in the visiting side, we can be confident about who the starting wingers will be. Both scored on matchday one, and Raphinha is priced at 1/1 to repeat the trick here, while Yamal is on offer at 11/8 to score anytime. 

Rashford looked a little rusty when he came off the bench in Palma, but didn't have many clear shooting opportunities. He did operate centrally though, and should feature off the bench in this one. The Englishman looks good at 9/2 to score last. 

From a home perspective, you can back Romero to score anytime at 4/1, while veteran José Luis Morales is on offer at 18/5 in the same market, although he's unlikely to play the full 90 minutes. 

*You can check out all the latest and live Levante vs Barcelona Odds over on betfred.com

Bet 1 - Over 1.5 first half goals @ 1/1 

All of the noises coming out of the Barcelona camp in recent weeks have indicated a strong desire to start the season quickly. They are keen to immediately hit the heights of last year, while building up a lead at the top of La Liga during a period when their schedule is favourable, and while their rivals are potentially dealing with Club World Cup hangovers. 

They started quickly last time out, scoring twice in the opening 23 minutes. They also fired in four goals past Italian big spenders Como in the first half of their final pre-season fixture. 

Flick will send his side out with the same attacking intent right from the off here. Levante will be defensive, but could ask a few questions of their own on the break, so I'm backing Over 1.5 first half goals at 1/1. 

Bet 2 - Lamine Yamal 5+ shots & Barcelona over 1.5 goals @ 13/10 

There may be parallels between this game and the season opener, when Barça spent much of the match camped in the Mallorca half of the pitch. While that was obviously conditioned by the two red cards, the pattern is likely to be similar here, with Levante expected to drop very deep. 

That may lead to the visitors taking lots of shots from range, as there may not be many obvious gaps to thread balls into the area. Lamine Yamal alone had nine attempts in Palma, while he has also taken on some set-piece duties. 

I'm expecting the teenager to feature heavily in this game too, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Lamine Yamal 5+ shots and Barcelona over 1.5 goals at 13/10.