Prediction: Real Madrid vs Levante

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 4/11

Bookmaker: Unibet

Real Madrid are set to welcome Levante to the Alfredo Di Stefano stadium on Saturday afternoon, for a match belonging to round 21 of the 2020-21 La Liga season, though it will actually be match number 20 for both teams. Naturally, both teams will feel that winning points in this match is very important, especially the hosts as they strive to win the league for the second campaign in a row.

Real Madrid

At the moment, things aren’t looking that well for Los Blancos on that front. They are in second place with 40 points, seven behind city rivals Atletico at the top, who play their game on Sunday away to Cadiz while already . The only consolation for Real, if consolation it is, is that arch-rivals Barcelona are still three points behind, in third place, while Sevilla are fourth with 36.

This situation, however, is an improvement in the prospects, the result of a run of nine matches without defeat in the league, including a triumph over Atletico. Things looked much worse before that, and there were several points in the season when the press in Spain reported head coach Zinedine Zidane was close to losing his job. Be that as it may, Real won four of their last six league outings (Eibar, Granada, Celta Vigo and Alaves) and drew the remaining two (Elche and Osasuna).

But if their recent league form does look good, it has been nothing short of disastrous in the cup competitions. Within six days, they were knocked out of the Supercopa de Espana by Athletic Bilbao, and out of this season’s Copa del Rey by losing out to third-tier side CD Alcoyano in the round of 32.

The Champions League campaign started poorly, but Real snapped out of the stupor just in time to win Group B ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach, Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan. They will now face Italian side Atalanta in the round of 16.

Team News

Zidane won’t be able to count on winger Rodrygo Goes and midfielder Fede Valverde through injury, defender Nacho through a positive Covid-19 test, and he’s not likely to risk captain Sergio Ramos who is still recovering from an injury of his own. Lucas Vazquez reportedly missed a training session on Wednesday and is now a doubt.

It means that Eder Militao will likely get the nod in the heard of defence alongside Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal to take his place on the right defensive flank, and Marco Asensio to join Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard in attack.

Levante

One of those teams who are usually very happy with being somewhere close to the middle of the table, Levante are currently in 12th place with 23 points. The table is very congested in that part, however, and a lot can change after one round. The three teams directly above – Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo and Cadiz – are all on 24, while Getafe below are also on 23. Even the relegation zone isn’t too far away, with Alaves in 18th place on 18 points.

Levante won two of their last six league matches, 4-3 at home against Real Betis and 2-1 against Eibar, also at home. They drew three times, 1-1 away to Huesca, 2-2 away to Cadiz and 2-2 at home against Valladolid. But they managed to beat Valladolid away on Tuesday by 2-4 and book a place in the Copa quarterfinals; at least they’ve done better than Real there.

Team News

Coach Paco Lopez will be without the services of winger Jorge de Frutos, as well as midfielders Nikola Vukcevic and Jose Campana.

Midfielder Nemanja Radoja, winger Jose Luis Morales, and forwards Dani Gomez and  Roger Marti, are all expected to return to the line-up having not been named to start in the cup win over Valladolid.

Conclusion

Real are, of course, strong favourites to win this match, which should see at least three goals scored overall.

Verdict: Total goals over 2.5

Best odds: 4/11

Bookmaker: Unibet