The Blaugrana thrashed Valladolid 5-1 on Tuesday to remain one point clear of Real Madrid and two ahead of Atletico Madrid and Granada.

With last week’s El Clasico against Real Madrid postponed because of political tension in Catalonia, Barcelona had 10 days to prepare for the visit of Valladolid and were never in any danger.

Kiko Olivas cancelled out Clement Lenglet’s early opener, before Lionel Messi took control of the game.

The Argentinian supplied a splendid pass to Arturo Vidal to put Barcelona back in front, before whipping a superb free-kick into the top corner to give his team a 3-1 lead before the break. In the second half, Messi added a second, before turning provider again and deliver another assist to Luis Suarez.

Messi’s first goal was the 50th time in his career the Argentine has scored from a free-kick—44 for Barcelona and six for Argentina—and Vidal heaped praise on his teammate.

“Leo showed all the quality he has, when he’s like that the team really feels it,” the Chilean midfielder was quoted as saying by Reuters. “We see him every day and he surprises us every day, with the quality he has, he’s from another planet.”

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde echoed Vidal’s feelings.

“I don’t know what else to say,” he said in his press conference after the game. “We always know he will do something special. His talent can’t be compared to anything.”

Worryingly for Barcelona’s rivals, Valverde suggested Messi was still finding his form after missing the first four games of the season with an injury.

“He’s still finding his form,” the Barcelona coach added.

“Whatever the game, we know he will appear. Every time he touches the ball, he does something special. He does things that that others can’t.”

Messi has been key to Barcelona’s resurgence after an unusually slow start to the season.

The reigning La Liga champions appear to have found their groove again and the win against Valladolid was the eight straight in all competitions, a run stretching back to September 24.

The Catalans have also rediscovered their goalscoring form, netting 22 goals in the last seven games, after scoring 12 times in the previous six matches.

Again, Messi has been key to Barcelona’s new-found attacking verve, scoring five times and assisting a further five goals in his last six appearances.

Levante snapped a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 win away at Real Sociedad on Wednesday, but it will not be relishing the prospect of coming up against the Argentine maestro.

The Granotas have the second-worst defense of any team in the top half of the table and have lost six of the last seven games against Barcelona by a combined 29-5 scoreline.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Saturday.

When and where is the game?

Levante hosts Barcelona at the Estadi Ciutat de València in Valencia on Saturday, November 2, with kick-off scheduled for 4 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET).

Barcelona has won six of the last seven league meetings against Levante, losing just once and outscoring its opponents 29-5 in the process.

TV coverage

The game will be broadcast live on beIN SPORTS.

Live stream

A live stream will be available via beIN Sports website and beIN Sports’ digital platforms, as well as via fuboTV.

Form

After the postponement of El Clasico, Barcelona returned to action on Tuesday, thrashing Valladolid 5-1 at home to extend its winning runs to eight games in all competitions.

Clement Lenglet opened the scoring and Arturo Vidal added a second, before Lionel Messi netted a brace and Luis Suarez got in the scoresheet late in the second half.

Levante, meanwhile, climbed up to 10th after a 2-1 win away against Real Sociedad.

Team news

Barcelona remains without Samuel Umtiti and Jordi Alba could miss out after picking up a knock against Valladolid, while Ousmane Dembele is suspended.

Odds

According to Oddschecker, Barcelona is a 7/50 favorite, while the draw is at 8/1 and Levante is a 19/1 underdog.