Albacete vs Levante Predictions & Match Preview

Albacete vs Levante predictions and match preview for Saturday’s Segunda División play-off Semi-Final 1st Leg. Read on for analysis ahead of this showdown as the hosts target back-to-back promotions.

Albacete vs Levante Preview

Albacete and Levante meet in the second of the Segunda Division play-off Semi-Final 1st Legs on Saturday evening. This could be the more entertaining of the two ties, largely thanks to an Albacete side who were the top scorers during the regular season.

Their tally of 58 speaks volumes of what kind of league this is with defensive football and low-scoring matches the norm. Albacete have been a breath of fresh air as they’ve attacked the second tier following promotion last year and they now have a genuine shot at sealing back-to-back promotions after advancing through the Primera RFEF play-offs in 2021/22.

They did still replace their coach last summer with former Lugo boss Ruben Albes arriving. Only 38, Albes is a young boss but he already has plenty of experience in the Spanish lower leagues and he even had a brief spell in Romania. This is his most impressive work yet though and of all the teams in the play-offs, it’s certainly Albacete who arrive with the most momentum. Their final 7 games produced 4 wins and 3 draws, a run which was comfortably enough to claim 6th place.

All of the other teams in the play-offs will carry a bit of baggage having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion. That includes Levante who were among the favourites for an immediate return to the top flight. In the end, they only missed out on head-to-head after winning their final two games to finish level on points with 2nd placed Las Palmas. However they will look back with real regret on a goalless home draw against already relegated Ibiza on matchday 40 as the reason why they aren’t already celebrating a return to the big time.

Evenso, they will go into the play-offs as perhaps the favourites to win promotion. They were down in 14th when summer appointment Mehdi Nafti was sacked in October but Javier Calleja has done a pretty good job of putting a competitive team together and they’ve only lost three league matches under his guidance, although they did draw 6 of their final 12 with a lack of goals a recurring problem.

Score Prediction: Albacete 2-1 Levante

Albacete will feel like they need to win the 1st Leg to have a really strong chance of progress in this tie and they’ve a good chance of doing that. They put in some excellent performances towards the end of the campaign and will be backed by an excitable, capacity crowd here which could make a difference.

PLEASE NOTE – Our Segunda División predictions are not betting tips! No profits are guaranteed if you’re using them to bet on Spanish football. If you are gambling, do so responsibly and never stake more than you can afford to lose. BeGambleAware.