New season starts now for Lewandowski

Despite the fact that Robert Lewandowski celebrated his 37th birthday on Thursday, it was already clear during the preseason that he is still playing football at the highest level and will be an important player for Barcelona this season. The Pole scored goals against Seoul and Daegu in friendlies, but then injured the hamstring in his left leg and missed the start of the league. Luckily, the injury was not too serious, so he will be included in the squad for the away game at Levante (Saturday, 22:30) in the 2nd round of La Liga.

Even without Lewandowski, Barça comfortably defeated Mallorca 3–0, with goals from Raphinha, Ferran Torres, and Lamine Yamal. However, after that match the opponents complained about the refereeing: they were left with nine men by the end of the first half, while Raphinha escaped a second yellow card after a foul. In Palma de Mallorca, Torres played as the most advanced striker, and it will likely be the same in Valencia. Lewandowski is expected to start from the bench against Levante, despite training normally with the squad in recent days. At this early stage of the season, Hansi-Dieter Flick sees no need to take risks if the Pole is not at 100 percent.

Barca kickstart title defence with a controversial win at Mallorca

Still, Barcelona will not travel at full strength to face the newly promoted side. Flick did not include Frenkie de Jong among the travelers, as the Dutchman hasn’t trained in recent days due to the birth of his child. That means either Gavi or Marc Casado will start. Also, Gerard Martín was not registered in time for this match, so he is not available either. On their opening weekend, Levante faced Alaves with ten Spaniards in the starting lineup, the only exception being German Jeremy Toljan. Interestingly, Toljan scored Levante’s only goal, but it was not enough to avoid defeat (1–2). Barcelona last visited Levante in April 2022, when they won 3–2 thanks to a Luuk de Jong goal in the 92nd minute.

LA LIGA - MATCHDAY 2

Friday

Betis - Alaves 1-0 (1-0)

/Lo Celso 16/

Saturday

18.00: (3.10) Mallorca (3.10) Celta (2.60)

20.30: (1.28) Atl.Madrid (6.00) Elche (12.0)

22.30: (9.50) Levante (6.25) Barcelona (1.27)

18.00: (2.50) Osasuna (3.15) Valencia (3.20)

20.30: (1.90) Sociedad (3.50) Espanyol (4.60)

20.30: (1.58) Villareal (4.45) Girona (5.80)

22.30: (10.0) Oviedo (5.00) Real Madrid (1.33)

***odds are subject to change***