Levante vs Valencia Preview: Team News & Prediction
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It is the Valencian derby at the Ciutat de Valencia and it is an enormous clash in La Liga's relegation battle as Levante take on Valencia.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Premier Sports / US – ESPN have the exclusive rights to La Liga games in the USA, so any game may be televised on one of their affiliated channels
How to watch online: UK – Premier Player / US – ESPN+
Levante preview: Improving Levante
Having gained promotion to the top-flight last season, Levante were impressive at the start of the season in terms of their performance level but results never picked up until a managerial change over the mid-season winter break.
The appointment of former Nantes boss Luis Castro has seen Levante become much more effective as they battle against the drop, albeit they do remain inside the bottom three and the relegation places ahead of this weekend's round of fixtures.
Valencia preview: In danger
Carlos Corberan appeared to have finally fought his way out of trouble at Valencia but the former West Bromwich Albion boss is once again under intense scrutiny from the Valencian press as Los Che hover just outside of the danger zone.
Their most recent outing saw them succumb to a 2-0 loss at home to Real Madrid in a very underwhelming performance and evening at Mestalla last week due to goals scored by Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe.
Levante team news: Couple of suspensions
Levante are dealing with a couple of key suspension issues for this one, such as Alan Matturro and Jeremy Toljan; while both Matias Moreno and Kervin Arriaga are also dealing with concussion.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ryan; Nacho Perez, Dela, Unai Elgezabal, Manu Sanchez; Pablo Martinez, Raghouber; Tunde, Carlos Alvarez, Ivan Romero; Eyong
Unavailable: Matturro (Suspended), Toljan (Suspended), Brugui (Injured)
Questionable: Matias Moreno (Concussion), Victor Garcia (Injured), Kervin Arriaga (Concussion)
Valencia team news: Copete suspended
Former Real Mallorca defender Juan Manuel Copete is missing through suspension, while the likes of Julen Agirrezabala and Mouctar Diakhaby are confirmed injury absentees.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Dmitrievski; Unai Nunez, Cumart, Correia, Jose Luis Gaya; Luis Rioja, Pepelu, Ugrinic, Danjuma; Hugo Duro, Beltran
Unavailable: Julen Agirrezabala (Injured), Diakhaby (Injured), Foulquier (Injured), Copete (Suspended), Ruben Iranzo (Injured)
Questionable:
Levante vs Valencia prediction
The improvement of Levante has come as a result of being more effective on the front foot but still playing in their progressive and attacking setup. Valencia appears to be a bit of a mess and the writing does seem on the wall for Carlos Corberan. It could well be that a derby day defeat to fellow strugglers and a team on the rise spells the end of the road for the Valencia boss.
Levante vs Valencia tip: Levante to win & both teams to score
