Valencia vs Levante Preview

Photo:valenciafc.es.  Tino Costa ready to give his best

Tomorrow Valencia play away against local rivals, Levante, in what should prove to be an exciting match. This is the first time Levante have played against their cross town rivals from a higher league position since their 1963/64 season. As it stands, Levante find themselves in 3^rd place after losing their first match of the season against Osasuna last week. The loss ended a 7 game winning streak, and now Levante will be looking to get back to their winning ways against Valencia. 

Valencia, on the other hand, are fresh from a euphoric victory over Leverkusen and a winning streak of their own. They will be feeling very strong and capable against Levante and a win could push them into second place, provided Barcelona loses. In the likely event that Barça wins, however, Valencia will at least find themselves in 3^rd, a position they rightly see as their own.  

 
Historically, Levante have been known for having a strong backline and a defense that is not easily broken down. This season, however, shows that while their defensive game is still intact, Levante have also been quite busy on the attack. Levante’s offense and defense are 3^rd  best in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.  Valencia will have to work and stay on their toes if they want to come out of this match with all three points.

There are two big worries for Valencia going into this match the first being the obvious injury crisis. The two top playmakers in the squad, Sergio Canales and Ever Banega, are both injured and will not participate. This means that Tino Costa and Dani Parejo will be given a chance to step up their game against Levante and play hard to make an impression on Emery. The second problem is Valencia’s erratic offense.  Even though Valencia has scored 6 times in the last two league games, they have only scored 15 times overall in the league this season and will have to make drastic improvements if they want to challenge for honors. It is not clear who will start up top on match day, Soldado or Aduriz, but whoever gets the honor of the start will have to bag some goals. The inclusion of Tino Costa, however, could help Valencia’s offense improve. The Argentine has a majestic shot, and hopefully he will use it to Valencia’s advantage in the upcoming games.  

There is no clear favorite for this match as, historically, Valencia has been the stronger team. This season, however, Levante are on a high that will be hard to bring down. Hopefully Emery will make the necessary tactical adjustments and the players will give their all on the night like they did against Leverkusen only days ago.  

By: David Wall

Edited: Matt Tobin