Relegation-threatened Levante will welcome top-four chasing Real Sociedad to Estadi Ciutat de València this Friday as both sides look to get the maximum points that will help them fulfil their season’s goals.
Venue: Estadi Ciutat de València (Valencia)
Key Statistics
Levante have seen 33 goals scored past the 75th minute this season, the most in Europe’s top-five leagues.
Only Cádiz (14) have registered fewer home points than Levante’s 16 in La Liga this season.
The hosts have scored in each of their last 12 games.
Real Sociedad are averaging a league-low 1.91 total goals per game this season.
Levante captain Jose Luis Morales has registered nine-goal contributions in his last five games – five goals and four assists.
Head to head
The last 15 meetings between both sides has featured six wins for Real Sociedad and three wins for Levante.
Latest performances in all competitions
Levante: D-L-W-L-W
Real Sociedad: D-L-D-W-W
Levante
Levante’s relegation fight could all but end on Friday unless they can win this game against Real Sociedad.
The hosts have just four games left of the La Liga season to pull off the greatest of escapes and confirm their top-flight status for next season. But given that they currently sat bottom of the table six points from safety it’ll be a tough ask.
They come into this tie on the back of a 1-1 draw with Valencia, but the result only kept them treading water as the three teams now immediately above them also avoided defeat.
To their credit, they have been showing a fight recently after a disastrous start to the season, as all five of their wins this campaign have come since the turn of the year and they have scored in each of their last 12 games.
But with just 12 points left to play, it seems that their fight came too late, and it appears inevitable that they go down. And two recent losses against Barcelona and Sevilla mean that only Cádiz (14) registered fewer home points than Levante’s 16.
Possible Levante starting line-up
Dani Cardenas; Jorge Miramon, Pier Rober, Oscar Duarte, Ruben Vezo, Francisco Son; Nemanja Radoja, Pepelu, Jose Campana; Luis Morales, Daniel Gomez.
Injured: Carlos Clerc, Jorge de Frutos, Roger Martí, Shkodran Mustafi
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Real Sociedad
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad will look to get back to winning ways to keep their quest for a top-six alive when they visit Valencia on Friday night.
The visitors who are currently on a three-game winless run are among four teams fighting for the European spots in the league.
Their situation is peculiar as they can still finish in the top four for the third time since the turn of the century given that they are just five points behind Atletico Madrid in the fourth position.
However, poor results in their last three games (D2, L1) have left that chance hanging in the hands of the other top four teams. So their focus will be on winning their remaining games to ensure that they at least secure a place in the Europa League next season.
A win in this game keeps that hope alive and with two wins in their last two head-to-head with Levante, they will fancy their chances of getting maximum points.
Possible Real Sociedad starting line-up
Alex Remiro; Andoni Gorosabell, Igor Zubeldia, Robin Le Normand, Diego Rico; Mikel Merino, Martín Zubimendi, Asier Illarramendi; Rafinha, Portu, Alexander Isak.
Injured: Nacho Monreal, Mikel Oyarzabal, Carlos Fernández, Ander Barrenetxea
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Levante 1-1 Real Sociedad
