This Saturday sees a pivotal fixture in La Liga, as top-of-the-table Real Madrid travel to 13th placed Levante with an eye on extending their narrow lead at the top of the table.
Zinedine Zidane’s team saw a run of 5 straight wins snapped in their last game as they drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo at the Bernabéu, but they will be hoping for a better result as Levante have won just once since the turn of the year, and were beaten by Los Blancos 3-2 back in September.
Also Read: Real Madrid 2-2 Celta Vigo: 3 reasons why Los Blancos drew the game
Levante vs Real Madrid Head-to-Head
Valencia-based side Levante last defeated Real Madrid back in October 2018, coming away from the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu with a surprising 1-2 victory that was probably their best result of the 2018-19 season. Aside from that, Los Blancos have dominated fixtures between the two sides, winning 18 of 25 matches.
Zinedine Zidane’s side have also been on far better form than their weekend’s opponents in recent matches, winning 5 of their last 6 and going without defeat since October 19th. Levante meanwhile have lost 13 of their 24 games during the current campaign.
Levante form guide: L-L-L-W-L
Real Madrid form guide: W-W-W-W-D
Levante vs. Real Madrid team news
Zinedine Zidane will be without forwards Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz, both of whom have not returned to training following injuries. Asensio in particular is expected to be out for a few more weeks yet with the knee injury he suffered in the summer of 2019.
Gareth Bale and Luka Jović are also expected to be unavailable after being sent home with gastroenteritis during a recent training session, while a hip injury looks to sideline James Rodriguez too.
Injured: Marco Asensio, Mariano Diaz
Doubtful: Gareth Bale, Luka Jovic, James Rodriguez
Suspended: None
Levante vs. Real Madrid Predicted XI
Real Madrid predicted XI (4-1-2-3): Thibaut Courtois, Ferland Mendy, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, Casemiro, Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Eden Hazard, Isco, Karim Benzema
Levante vs. Real Madrid Prediction
On paper this looks like a one-sided match in favour of Real Madrid, but it must be noted that they may well have one eye on their Champions League match with Manchester City four days later, and thus could well take their focus off this match.
Despite that, Paco Lopez’s team simply don’t have the depth, particularly in defence, to survive against a team who have been in such strong form recently. They may be able to score and surprise Real early, but to see them end the game with anything other than a loss would be a shocker.
Prediction: Levante 1-3 Real Madrid