Ernesto Valverde: Antoine Griezmann Will Be Recalled if He Meets Requirements

The France international produced a man of the match performance against Eibar but was then dropped for their next La Liga match at home to Real Valladolid.

Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann.   :: Bagu Blanco/BPI/Shutterstock

Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde claims Antoine Griezmann will only be recalled to the starting lineup if he meets his requirements ahead of their trip to Levante on Saturday.

The France international produced a man of the match performance against Eibar but was then dropped for their next La Liga match at home to Real Valladolid, being replaced in the starting lineup by teenager Ansu Fati.

Griezmann could be recalled when Barcelona travel to the Estadi Ciutat de València, but Valverde insists the former Atlético Madrid forward doesn't have a guaranteed spot in the first-team in Catalonia.

"He is a player who has been playing regularly," Valverde said, quoted by Marca. "The other day I made some changes. I don't like to talk about indisputable starters. He will play if he meets his requirements."

Barcelona go into their trip to Levante at the top of the league table, with one extra game in hand after the recent El Clasico was postponed until December.

Saturday's hosts, who are in their third season back in La Liga, are comfortably in mid-table thanks to their impressive home form so far where they've lost just one game - a 1-0 defeat to Espanyol last week. 

Forwards José Luis Morales and Hernâni Fortes have been Levante's standout players this season, and Valverde highlighted both players as a threat which Barcelona will be forced to focus on when they travel to Valencia.

"[Levante] are a team that try to press high and that have many offensive solutions," he added.

"They are usually a team that attacks with many players and, if they take the ball off you, they can harm you with the likes of Morales and Hernâni. It is one of those matches in which anything can happen.

"The other day at Anoeta they were again a coherent team, similar to what they was last year."