FC Barcelona will be looking to kick-start their La Liga title defense with a win tomorrow, as they prepare to host Levante at the Camp Nou in Sunday’s early evening kick-off. Despite cruising to a 15-point victory in last season’s title race, the Blaugrana have not been given "prime-time billing"; but that does mean that they can put some early pressure on Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid – provided that they secure the three points against Joaquin Caparros’ men.
The good news for Barça and their new head coach Gerardo Martino is that both Lionel Messi and Cesc Fàbregas have been cleared to return to action after they picked up injuries in the latter stages of pre-season, although club captain Carles Puyol is expected to miss another month as he steps up his recovery from a lengthy knee injury.
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In spite of Puyol’s injury status, Martino insisted that he is content with his squad – hinting that Barcelona will not conduct any more business in this transfer window. Naturally, the public reaction to this news has been mixed; Barça probably does need to sign a new central defender, but neither the league title nor the UEFA Champions League is won in the first-half of the season – meaning that if needs be Barça can reassess the situation in the January transfer window.
And even if Barcelona haven’t reinforced at the back, there is still every reason to feel optimistic ahead of the new season. After all, the Blaugrana have only lost a few members of last season’s La Liga winning squad – and when all is said and done, the three players who left were hardly regular starters.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the team news ahead of tomorrow’s game:
