Cesc Fabregas scored late on to inch Barcelona closer to another La Liga title, as Real Madrid kept the least at 13 points with a 3-1 win over Real Betis.
Barca struggled to break through at the Camp Nou against Levante, with David Villa missing a penalty, only for Fabregas to pop up in the 84th minute to finish nicely and give his side a 1-0 win.
The three points for both sides on Saturday mean, Barca will be crowned champions if they win their Spanish League game at Atheltic Bilbao next weekend, and if Real Madrid lose to Atletico Madrid.
"It was a very important match," Fabregas said. "We had to win in order to be closer to winning the title.
"It seems as though there are people that want to detract value from winning the league, but it's a very important title. We've worked very hard."
With the Champions League semifinal first leg against Bayern Munich looming large on Tuesday, Barcelona expectedly fielded an under-strength side, with Tito Vilanova choosing not to take a risk with Lionel Messi, who is still working his way back to full fitness from injury.
Eric Abidal made his first start in over a year as Barcelona expectedly dominated possession. The first chance came when Andres Iniesta fell inside the penalty box, with the referee giving the home side a soft penalty.
Villa stepped up to take the spotkick, which was comfortably saved by Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Barca struggled to create chances, with Navas also making a couple of nice saves, and the game seemed to be heading for a goalless draw, before Fabregas fired home the winner.
Alexis Sanchez found the former Arsenal man from the right, with Fabregas taking a nice first touch before slotting home low.
"This Saturday we suffered quite a bit to win the game," Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura said. "This points to how hard the competition is and it gives value to the fact that we've won 84 points so far and that we have such a big advantage over one of the best Real Madrid sides ever.
"It's normal to have ups and downs. Perhaps we were lacking fluidity but that was largely due to how well Levante played. There is nothing that could overshadow our joy if we win La Liga."
At the Bernabeu, Real scored a comfortable win over Europe-chasing Real Betis. Jose Mourinho also rested a few of his key players, but a double from Mesut Ozil and another from Karim Benzema, with Ronaldo the creative force, helped them to a 3-1 win.
The match was marred by a couple of injuries to Real players, with both Marcelo and Luka Modric having to be taken off.
Marcelo was stretchered off early in the game, while Modric was substituted in the second half after pulling up with a thigh problem.
"Marcelo has felt it quite a lot," Real assistant coach Aitor Karanka told reporters. "Luka looks like fatigue, but he said he felt something and we'll need to see how it develops.
"It seems to be something to do with the muscle, when we asked him he said he felt something and that is the worst news from the match."
Results: Barcelona 1-0 Levante; Valencia 5-1 Malaga; Real Madrid 3-1 Real Betis; Granada 1-1 Real Valladolid; Real Mallorca 1-1 Real Vallecano.