Levante VS Valencia ( BETTING TIPS, Match Preview & Expert Analysis )™
PREVIEW & TIPS FOR Levante vs Valencia
We get off to a good start to the new Spanish football weekend, because on Friday evening the ‘Derbi del Turia,’ or the always-laden city derby between Levante and Valencia, is on the program. Levante has not been able to win seven editions in a row, but the home club smells blood against a changeable Valencia.
Levante Team News
With a place in the middle bracket, Levante is again doing well in LaLiga this season, although the red-and-blue will have had a bitter aftertaste from their duels last week. Paco Lopez’s team had a final place in the Copa del Rey against Athletic Bilbao, but had to bow their head in extra time after a deflected shot by Athletic Bilbao attacker Alex Berenguer. A few days later, Real Sociedad sprinkled some more salt in the wound by beating Levante 1-0. Due to this defeat, Levante dropped to the Spanish right-hand row, which means that the season now threatens to end like a candle.
However, Lopez does not want to know about that. “We are still very much alive, and our objectives are clear,” said the coach. ‘European football is not a theme for us. We just want to win every game, and then we’ll see where we are at the end of the season. ‘ Nice words, but with only one victory in the last eight matches in all competitions, Levante is not exactly in top form. Attack leader Roger Marti is doing well, but with only a clean sheet in the last eight official games, De Kikkers sometimes want to lose sight of their defensive tasks.
Valencia Team News
The story of Valencia is well known by now. The club held a sale last summer by selling out Dani Parejo, Rodrigo Moreno and Ferran Torres, among others, for an apple and an egg, while not making any purchases itself. The new coach Javi Gracia did not hide his displeasure, but decided to stay anyway. He was forced to appeal to various very young talents, with the result that the club from the orange city regularly flirted with relegation. However, things have improved a bit in recent weeks, and thanks to last weekend’s handsome 2-1 victory over fellow countryman Villarreal, Los Che are now eight points away from the relegation zone.
Valencia can therefore work relatively carefree towards this Valencian city derby against eternal rival Levante. With twenty wins in 35 editions, Valencia has traditionally had the upper hand, although the visitors on Friday evening are clearly the underdog. Valencia is not only a place lower in the rankings, but also has to miss several important players. Maxi Gomez, Jose Gaya, Carlos Soler and Uros Racic have all been suspended, while Denis Cheryshev and Cristiano Piccini are in the rag basket. Gracia will therefore again have to rely on players such as Toni Lato, Alex Blanco, Kevin Gameiro and Christian Oliva, whose starting places in LaLiga can be counted literally and figuratively on one hand.