Levante vs Valencia match preview and predictions for Friday’s LaLiga match. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups ahead of the big Valencia derby.
| Date | Friday 12th March 2021 |
| Kick-Off | 21:00 (local time) |
| Stadium | Ciutat de Valencia |
| Competition | LaLiga |
Levante vs Valencia Preview
The weekend action in LaLiga kicks off with a bang in the shape of the Valencia derby. These two clubs are now neck and neck in the table with just one place and two points separating the two. Levante are ahead and have been far the more impressive overall as they aim to finish as the highest of the two Valencia clubs for the first time in their history.
This will be Levante’s first home outing since a heartbreaking Extra Time defeat to Athletic Club in their Copa del Rey Semi-Final last week. That was a real low point in an otherwise excellent season for Levante. They went to San Sebastian last Sunday and unsurprisingly played like a team with no energy left after a draining night against Athletic. The scoreline only read 1-0 in favour of La Real but xG data suggested it could easily have been more like 6-0.
Given that, Levante might have liked this to have been a Sunday or Monday game rather than a Friday night but they have at least had four days off to try and rest up and find some energy again. They did rotate at Anoeta in some areas but there’s no doubt that Paco Lopez will pick his strongest available side for the derby.
Valencia won the reverse fixture back on the opening weekend, despite some woeful defending early on, but it proved something of a false dawn for Los Che. They’ve had a poor season with the off-field problems continuing. However some key wins in recent weeks have seen them edge clear of the drop-zone and another victory here would all but extinguish any danger of Valencia going down, which was a genuine fear at one point.
Valencia have won 3 of their last 6 in LaLiga. All those wins came at Mestalla including a dramatic derby victory over Villarreal last Friday. Late goals from Carlos Soler and Goncalo Guedes settled the game in the favour of Javi Gracia’s side by a 2-1 margin and they’ll be hoping to complete a Valencian derby treble here having also already beaten Elche, the other LaLiga side from the region, in 2021.
Head to Head
- Last 6 Competitive Meetings: 4 Valencia Wins, 2 Draws.
- Valencia won 4-2 when the sides met earlier this term and also by the same margin on their last visit to the Ciutat de Valencia.
- Levante haven’t won a Valencia derby since a 1-0 home win in March 2016.
- Both teams have scored in all 7 meetings since Levante returned to the top flight in 2017.
Team News
Rober Pier and Sergio León should be available for Levante who are still missing Jose Campana.
Valencia are missing some key men with Carlos Soler, Jose Gayá, Uros Racic and Maxi Gómez all unavailable.
Predicted Levante Starting Lineup:
Fernandez – Pier, Vezo, Coke – Clerc, Bardhi, Vukcevic, De Frutos, Son – Morales, Roger (3-5-2)
Predicted Valencia Starting Lineup:
Cillessen – Lato, Guillamon, Paulista, Correia – Kang-In, Oliva, Esquerdo, Wass – Guedes, Gameiro (4-4-2)
Levante vs Valencia Predictions
LaLiga Expert Predicts: Levante 3-2 Valencia (follow us on Tipstrr to view our betting tips)
As far as derbies go, these Valencia city clashes are usually quite open affairs. The reverse fixture produced loads of chances at both ends and 6 goals. Both teams have defensive flaws but some talented creative and attacking players and this should be a really watchable game. Levante will be favourites and with Valencia missing some key players, the hosts might just edge it.
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