Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. (Photo : Reuters)
Defending La Liga champions FC Barcelona (3-0-0, 9 points) will gun for their fourth consecutive victory against winless Levante UD (0-1-2, 2 points) to continue the team's hot start to their 2015-2016 title defense.
The match will be held at the Barça's home field of Camp Nou on Sunday, September 20.
Lionel Messi saved the day for Barcelona during their come-from-behind 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid last Saturday at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, as reported by ESPN.
With Brazilian captain Neymar back in harness, Luis Enrique left Messi on the bench as a substitute, something that has never happened in a long while.
The score is tied at 1-1 when the Argentina international entered the contest at the hour mark and his mere presence immediately swayed the match towards Barça's advantage.
Finally, at the 77th, Messi casually slotted in a setup from Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez to give the lead to Barcelona and win the game.
Meanwhile, struggling team Levante settled for a 1-1 tie with Sevilla as they still failed to snatch their first win of the season, via SkySports.
Midfielder Víctor Camarasa headed one from close range to equalize the count in the second half after Los Rojiblancos drew first blood in the opening minutes. With the draw, Les Granotes secured a point to improve their tally in the overall league table to two points.
With the three-headed monster of Messi, Suarez, and Neymar healthy and complete, Barcelona is expected to win this one even if Enrique decides to bench any of the three again.
The predicted result is a 2-0 win for Barça.
FC Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): ter Stergen; Alba, Vermaelen, Mascherano, Roberto; Iniesta, Busquets, Rakitic; Neymar, Suarez, Messi
Levante starting lineup (5-3-2 formation): Ruben; Tono, Juanfran, Feddal, Trujillo, Morales; Verza, Mari, Camarasa; Deyverson, Ghilas
