Levante vs Barcelona: La Liga top-spot test

Real Madrid beat Rayo Vallecano 4-1 at home and drew level on points at the top of La Liga, which leaves Barcelona needing a result at Levante on Sunday to take back sole possession of first place.

At the other end they have conceded only three and kept three clean sheets.

The ground has bitten them before. Last season Barcelona were 2-0 down there and still won 2-3. The record at the Ciutat de València before that reads a 2-3 win in 2022, a 3-3 draw in 2021, and back-to-back defeats, 3-1 and 2-1, in 2019.

Levante lost Carlos Espí, the target man who dragged them clear of relegation last term, but Luís Castro has rebuilt around structure rather than one player. They have scored three headed goals so far this season, more than anyone else in the division, with centre-back Dela a threat from distance and set pieces and Olasagasti pushing on from deep. Brugué has also made a sharp start in front of goal, and the Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan sits behind a side Castro is expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1.

Flick's problem is different: keeping a squad fresh while playing twice a week. Pedri has looked short of legs in recent outings, and the early rounds were as much about the manager settling on his best XI as anything else. That work looks close to done, and rotation is likely to go further now, with Gordon, Adeyemi, Lamine and Raphinha all in contention among a Forward line built for pace against a Levante side that sits in and looks to break rather than chase the game.

Flick has also had time this week to praise one of his own. he said of the young centre-back.

A win would put Barcelona back on top alone and add to the case that this attack has not yet been solved by anyone in the division. Another slip at a ground that has troubled them before would hand the initiative straight back to Madrid.