Three days after Barcelona dismantled Feyenoord 5-1 in their Champions League opener, Hansi Flick’s side travel to Levante for a fifth-round La Liga fixture that gives 19-year-old Lamine Yamal another chance to stamp his authority on a season that is already building quickly. Barcelona have scored 17 goals and conceded just 2 in four league games, and Yamal sits joint-third in the La Liga scoring charts with 4 goals. For a teenager running at defenders with the ease he has shown so far this season, a Levante backline still finding its footing in the top flight looks like a favorable venue.
Lamine Yamal’s recent form
Yamal has contributed 4 goals in La Liga this season, placing him alongside Barcelona team-mate Fermín and Deportivo La Coruna’s P. Aubameyang at the top of the scoring table behind Raphinha (6 goals) and Rayo’s Sergio Camello (5). That output from a wide attacker, through only four league appearances, points to a player operating with real confidence going forward.
Within Flick’s system, Yamal functions as a high-volume threat from the right flank, cutting inside and arriving in dangerous areas. Barcelona’s last five results, five wins including a 5-0 at Valencia and a 5-2 against Rayo Vallecano, show the full team is in a groove, but the width and directness Yamal provides is central to why opponents are being opened up so consistently.
The tactical matchup
Levante’s squad includes Manu Sánchez as a likely option at left back, the side of the pitch Yamal will target most directly. Levante have shown they can keep things tight when organized, holding Malaga and Osasuna to back-to-back scoreless draws, but their defensive record across four league games sits at 5 goals conceded, the same number they have scored. That balance sheet suggests they are not watertight at the back.
Barcelona’s ability to generate chances from wide areas and overload the half-spaces has punished opponents badly this season. Levante’s one league win came in a 5-2 home result against Real Betis, a game that showed they can score but also that they are vulnerable when pressed high. Yamal attacking a backline that has shown it can be stretched on transitions is a matchup that favors the Barcelona winger.
What’s at stake for him
Barcelona lead La Liga with 12 points from 4 games, level on points with Real Madrid but ahead on games played. For Yamal personally, sustaining this scoring pace through the congested early-season calendar, with Champions League and league commitments running simultaneously, would put him firmly into conversations around individual awards. He is already one of only three Barcelona players in the La Liga top-five scorers list this season, alongside Raphinha and Fermín.
The head-to-head record also adds context. In the last five meetings between these clubs, Barcelona have won four and drawn one. Levante have not beaten Barcelona in the last 10 encounters, managing only one win across the full series. That history does not guarantee anything, but it does mean Yamal arrives at a venue where the visitors have repeatedly found space and goals. A performance here, against a side sitting 13th, would be another data point in what is shaping up as a strong personal season.
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Our Prediction
Barcelona should have enough to win comfortably here. Levante can make games tight as their recent draws show, but their defensive vulnerabilities against teams that press and move quickly are real. Yamal is in the kind of form where he looks capable of affecting matches at will, and a Levante side still settling into La Liga represents the sort of opponent against which he has flourished. Expect Barcelona to win and Yamal to be central to the goals.