Levante Continue Bid for Survival
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Friday night football has become a regular feature in La Liga and it usually involves teams scrapping in the bottom half of the table. This week is no different as Levante welcome Eibar to the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
While Eibar are punching above their weight in the top half of the league this season, Levante are struggling towards the bottom and start this match in 17th place, just 4 points clear of the relegation zone.
Eibar sit in 9th place, 15 points better off than their hosts and a win would see them move up to 8th in La Liga. A good run towards the end of the season could see Eibar qualify for European football.
Levante come into this match on the back of an excellent 1-0 win at Getafe. With Getafe safely in mid-table and boasting a good recent home record, it was always going to be a tough match for Levante but they came away with a crucial 1-0 victory.
This plus the 1-1 draw at home with Espanyol means Levante have reversed a run which saw them lose four straight games in La Liga.
However, trends show the win over Getafe was Levante’s only victory in their last sixteen La Liga games and they have won just two of their last twenty-three in the Spanish top-flight. They have won only one of their last fifteen home matches in all competitions and have failed to score a goal in three of their last five home league games.
Eibar travel to Valencia having lost 2-1 at home to Real Madrid last week. They looked like getting a point against the defending champions but conceded a late goal to Cristiano Ronaldo and will feel disappointed not to have taken something from the match.
That loss was Eibar’s first in three La Liga games having held Deportivo La Coruna to a 1-1 draw away from home and defeated Villarreal 1-0 on home soil.
Away from home, trends show Eibar have lost just one of their last seven La Liga games and that defeat came at the hands of Celta Vigo. This run of form comes in direct contrast to their early away results which saw Eibar lose five away matches in a row, conceding 18 goals in the process.
Eibar have scored in four of their last five away league matches but have kept just a single clean sheet.
Looking ahead to the team news and Levante will be without the injured quartet of Ivan Lopez, Alex Alegria, Raul Fernandez and Cheick Doukoure. Goalkeeper Koke is suspended so Oier will continue in goal.
Eibar have doubts over central midfielder Fran Rico and central defender Vukasin Jovanovic. Fabian Orellena is not expected to return to action until mid-April.
Levante have not won enough home games this season, a run which could continue in this match. They are La Liga’s draw specialists and while they need to start winning at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, another point in their battle against the drop against a mid-table team will be welcome.
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