Granada head to Valencia on Saturday to face off with Levante. The two clubs are mid-table and fighting for Europa League qualification. A win for either side could inch them closer to La Liga’s European places.
Levante are coming off of a brilliant 2-1 away win against Real Madrid. It was an impressive performance against the reigning champions. Levante are on 26 points which has them six points off of the top six.
Granada are eighth in the standings with 29 points. Just three points have Granada off of the top six and the European qualification places.
These teams met back in November with the match finished in a 1-1 draw. Granada’s Darwin Machis opened the scoring in the eighth minute but the goal was cancelled out by Ruben Vezo just before halftime. Granada’s Maxime Gonalons was sent off in the second half with a red card.
Levante are in good form. They took 11 points from their last 18 possible and are on a four-match unbeaten run.
Granada have not been in such good form. They took five points from their last 18 on offer. The Hoops scored just five goals during that six-match time span.
La Liga sees more draws than any of the other top five leagues in Europe. Levante have the third-most draws in the division with eight from 20 matches. Granada have had five of their 21 league game finish in draws.
Levante manager Paco Lopez has three players on the injury list going into the weekend. Jorge de Frutos is nearing a return to the squad and could play this weekend following a hamstring injury.
Nikola Vukcevic could also return after recovering from a back problem. Jose Campana is ruled out for the fixture and won’t be back until March.
Granada have four names on the injury list for the weekend. Gonalons, who was sent off when these teams last met, is suffering from a hamstring strain. He could be back in time for the fixture.
Yangel Herrera and Neydar Lozano are both doubts for the game due to their respective injuries. Luis Milla is also a doubt as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Saturday’s game pits two evenly matched teams against each other. Like their first match this season, Levante and Granada should finish in a score draw. However, this time, expect the two teams to combine for over 2.5 goals scored.