Valencia vs Levante
Yes folks, SBOBET La Liga 2020 is back! And on Friday night (European time) we have a mouth-watering derby to look forward to, kicking off a feast of football for the weekend.
La Liga; Valencia vs Levante… doesn’t that sound great? It’s been a while coming, and after the Seville derby starts things off on Thursday evening it’s the turn of the Valencians to put on a show.
The Mestalla will be oddly silent on Friday night, but Valencia head coach Albert Celades will have no problem lifting his players after a two-month wait, and they have a job to complete, currently sitting on the edge of the automatic European places, but well in the hunt.
Meanwhile, Levante is hoping to finish off a solid season, they currently sit in 13th place on 33 points and eight clear of the drop zone.
Talking Points
Defence could be key to Valencia’s hopes
A 3-4 defeat to Atalanta in the Champions League, just before the break, exposed some defensive frailties in a Valencia side which has conceded more goals than any of the other top seven teams in La Liga. Striker Kevin Gameiro was on target twice but Atalanta’s Josip Ilicic simply tore apart the Valencia rearguard, scoring four goals and giving the Italians an 8-4 aggregate win.
Back in La Liga, Sevilla is in pole position for a top four place, while Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad and Getafe are in the chase, but Valencia is only four points behind Sociedad in fourth place. A Champions League return is not out of the question but it will be if they continue to leak goals.
Former Arsenal defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin could be a key player if he can recapture his Gunners’ form, while skipper Dani Parejo is more forward-looking, scoring eight goals; level with Uruguayan striker Mai Gomez.
In reality, Valencia might have to chase hard for a Europa League place, but they should set their sights higher, playing to win while keeping things tight.
Levante need two or three wins
Levante head coach Paco Lopez can be pleased with his work this season as Los Granotas find themselves just a couple of wins away from survival for a third year in succession. They are looking to improve on consecutive 15th placed finishes since promotion back to La Liga in 2017, and are well on track with 11 games to play.
The underdogs are happy to take on the big guns and had a party when captain Jose Lui Morales scored a stunning winner in Levante’s victory over Real Madrid in February.
It was a defeat which cost Los Blancos the top spot as Barcelona hammered Eibar 5-0 on the same day. Real missed a bucket load of chances before Morales latched on to a long ball from Nikola Vukcevic and hammered a first time volley past Thibaut Courtois and into the net for a late winner.
Players to look out for are top scorer Roger Marti who has 11 goals to his name, creative midfield star Jose Campana and raiding wing back Jorge Miramon, who has made five assists.
History
The hosts have certainly had the better of the head to head Valencia vs Levante results in recent years. Valencia have won 13 of the 25 meetings since 2005, with Levante managing to win five and draw seven.
The Mestalla club has won three of the last five, including a 2-4 win in Levante, and drawn to other two. The return match at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia was a real battle as Celades’ men fought back from a two goals deficit. Marti had put Levantes two ahead before dragging their illustrious visitors back into the game with an own goal. Gameiro, with two goals and a late Ferran Torres strike turned the game on its head.
Betting Tip
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Valencia vs Levante | Total Goals 2-3 @ 1.98 |
| June 13, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
The pre-match Valencia vs Levante betting odds point to a home win for Celades’ boys. When playing at the Mestalla they have not lost to Levante in their last 12 encounters, so it’s no surprise that Valencia is at 1.74 to win, with the draw at 3.54 and Levante at 4.17 to spring a surprise.
Los Granotas have lost their last five on the road and with Valencia’s home record of eight wins, six draws and no defeats it’s hard to see an away win.
But this is like an opening fixture of the season and it could be cagey, with both sides organising their defences to frustrate.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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