La Liga Preview: Levante - Valencia

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Levante (Marca)

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Levante and Valencia go into their local derby on Sunday having both failed to achieve their goals for the season, with Levante relegated, while Valencia have fallen well short of the title challenge they had hoped for.

A late strike from Riki consigned Levante to a midweek defeat at the hands of Deportivo, while Valencia pushed themselves to within touching distance of safety with a 1-0 win at home to Real Zaragoza.

The two teams played out an uneventful 0-0 draw when they met earlier in the season at the Mestalla.

Local Bragging Rights

Sunday's game will be the last Primera Division football that is likely to be played at the Ciudad de Valencia for a while and Levante will be looking to go out on a high with a victory their local neighbours Valencia.

The players performed another mini-protest against the board at the start of their game with Deportivo in midweek, but with at least partial payment of their wages seeming secure within the next couple of weeks, most of them will be content to take their money and run come the end of the season.

Levante's only ottainable goal in the last couple of games is to catch and overtake Murcia so that they are not consigned to finishing bottom of the table, but it is unlikely that this will have any meaningful effect on the performance of the team on Sunday.

Nearly There

Valencia had looked in massive trouble once more when they fell to a 6-0 defeat to Barcelona next weekend, but their midweek win over Zaragoza has removed any immediate danger and leaves them needing just a couple of points to secure their top flight status.

Temporary coach Voro has done a decent job of rallying the troops for the two home games he has taken charge of and will hope that the local rivalry and greater support within the Ciudad de Valencia on Sunday will provoke a similar response from his players.

With a potentially difficult game against an Atletico Madrid team who may need to win to secure their Champions League status coming up in their final match of the campaign, Voro will want to wrap things up against Levante. The last thing the club needs is a nervy last day match and Voro will be more than aware of this.

Almeria coach Unai Emery is currently the favourite to take charge of the team on a full-time basis at the end of the season, but Voro can be pleased with his efforts if he is able to steer them to safety following the calamitous performances under previous coach Ronald Koeman.

FORM

Levante

Recent Matches

TEAM NEWS

Levante

Levante have Alvaro Maior and Matthieu Berson suspended, while David Castedo, Miguel Angel Lozano, Damiano Tommasi and Shota Arveladze are all missing through injury.

Probable Starting XI: Reina, Descarga, Armando, Serrano, Rubiales, Fuego, Juanma, Saul, Leon, Courtois, Geijo.

Valencia

Los Che have Emiliano Moretti, Fernando Morientes, Marco Caneira and Vicente missing through injury, but Raul Albiol does overcome a fever to make the squad.

David Silva is suspended following his midweek dismissal, but Hedwiges Maduro is available once more after recovering from injury.

Probable Starting XI: Hildebrand, Miguel, Helguera, Albiol, Alexis, Joaquin, Marchena, Baraja, Mata, Zigic, Villa.

PREDICTION

Levante have shown a decent amount of pluck in recent weeks despite their relegation being secured and they will certainly be motivated to put one over on their local rivals. However, with the promise of survival in sight, Valencia need just one last push and have the players necessary to make the difference on Sunday.

Levante 1-3 Valencia

Nick Dorrington