Following a not un-entirely unexpected 2-1 defeat away at Atletico Madrid last time out in the Spanish top flight, Levante will return to more familiar surroundings at their Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, where they’ll entertain lowly Deportivo Alaves, and no doubt seek a quick return to winning ways.
Prior to that defeat in Madrid, Levante had registered back-to-back wins against mid-table Granada 2-1 away from home and a 3-1 home win against fourth from bottom club, Celta Vigo which had helped Levante into a mid-table position in La Liga.
Although recent results for Levante have produced inconsistent returns, winning 3 and losing 3 in their last 6 matches overall in La Liga, the hosts have had more consistent joy on home turf so far this season.
5 of Levante’s total of 8 wins to date in the Spanish top flight have been recorded at home and the hosts have also won 3 of their last 4 matches at their Estadio Ciudad de Valencia with victories over Barcelona 3-1, Mallorca 2-1 and Celta Vigo 3-1.
Deportivo Alaves currently occupy 15th place on the Spanish top flight ladder and they find themselves just 5 points above the relegation zone as they prepare for this tricky looking trip to face Levante in their own backyard this Saturday lunchtime.
A disappointing sequence of 5 matches without a win in La Liga hasn’t done Alaves any favours either as the visitors have slumped to defeats against Real Madrid at home along with back-to-back losses on the road at Granada 3-0 and Barcelona 4-1.
The major concern for Deportivo Alaves ahead of this clash with Levante is that of their total of 5 wins to date in La Liga, 4 of these have been achieved on home turf at their Estadio de Mendizorroza where they’ve lost just twice throughout this season to date.
However, this means that Alaves have captured just 1 away win all season out of their 9 away matches to date, losing 7 of these 9 matches on the road too, so the visitors’ confidence may well be shaky at best.
The bigger picture paints an even more demoralising outlook for Alaves as they’ve won just 1 of their last 13 away matches which also includes 10 defeats within this period too, so Levante look set to bounce back here.