Spanish Primera Division – Match Preview: UD Levante versus Real Madrid
Levante will be looking to pull off a massive upset as they host Real Madrid for their fifth league match of the season. So far things have not been pretty for the Valencia club, they have had a terrible start to their Spanish league
season and if they do continue in the same fashion, Levante can be looking into the blood filled eyes of relegation, something that their fans and their manager will be well aware off. There is no better way for minnows like Levante to make their mark on the
Spanish league than to defeat the Spanish giants, Real Madrid.
However, such a task is easier said than done but Madrid are always susceptible to underestimating their opponents are taking victory for-granted, therefore Levante can strike swiftly and hardly when the Los Blancos arrive in all
their glory and pride.
In their first match of the season, Levante faced Sevilla in what eventually turned out to be quite an embarrassing affair for them. Sevilla ran rampant on that fortunate day as Levante ended up as losers in the encounter by the score
line of four goals to one. In their second league match, UD faced Getafe. In this encounter, Levante gave a good account of themselves in the first half of the match but as the night went on, they lost focus and through their absolutely dire defending, the
Valencia club conceded four goals to lose the match 4-1.
Levante’s third match consisted of Villarreal’s trip to the Ciutat de València. Luis Garcia’s team were expected to at least draw this match but they eventually lost this one as well by a margin of a singular goal as the match finished
2-1. It was Levante’s second home defeat of the season, a defeat that left their fans hurting. However, Levante unexpectedly against all odds did well in their latest league match against Almeria, away from home. Granotes were successful in getting all three
points against Almeria as they ended up as final winners by just a single goal.
On the other hand, Levante’s fine opponents Real Madrid are unbeaten in their Spanish league campaign so far. Winning every game bar one that has come their way, Madrid look like an unstoppable force in Spanish football at the moment.
Their only blip came at the start of the season in their very first match against Mallorca. A match in which Mallorca successfully held off the dangerous Real Madrid attack, to secure a clean sheet and a draw. In their second match of the season, Madrid faced
Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeau stadium; Jose Mourinho’s team just scrapped through at the end with a one nil win which propelled them to the first half of the Spanish league table.
Madrid’s third match saw them travelling to Real Sociedad, where Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria’s goals gave them a two goals to one victory. In their latest match, Madrid thrashed Espanyol by three goals but had their defender
Pepe sent off, therefore the Portuguese hard-man will miss the match against Levante. Jose is expected to start with Carvalho and Raul Albiol in central defence; however Sergio Ramos can also be shifted to the centre of Madrid’s defence to shore up things.
Up front all expectations will be on Ozil, Higuain, Di Maria and Ronaldo, who are still learning each other’s traits as footballers and learning to play as a team. In their last six matches against Levante, Real Madrid have won five
whereas the Levante ended up as winners in one of the games. This corresponding fixture last season finished in a 2-0 Real Madrid victory. Anything but a “galacticos” victory in this match will be seen as a failure for Jose’s team whereas anything but a thrashing
will be a satisfactory result for Levante.
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