Preview: Levante vs Real Madrid – prediction, team news

La Liga leaders Real Madrid will look to extend their perfect start to the season when they face newly-promoted Levante at the Estadio Ciutat de Valencia on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Levante will be hoping to spring a surprise as they go in search of back-to-back victories following their successful outing against Girona.

Match preview

Levante are five games into their first top-flight campaign since 2021-22 after winning the Segunda Division title last term. 

The Granotes experienced a difficult reintroduction to La Liga, losing their opening three matches against Alaves, Barcelona and Elche. 

They have since sparked an upturn in fortunes to take four points from two matches, playing out an entertaining draw with Real Betis before beating nine-man Girona on Saturday.

Karl Etta Eyong scored in between two Girona red cards, before Carlos Alvarez, Ivan Romero and Goduine Koyalipou all found the net in a comfortable 4-0 victory at Montilivi.

After claiming their first win of the season, Julian Calero’s side will now return to the familiar surroundings of the Ciutat de Valencia for their first home meeting with Real Madrid since threatening a memorable win in a dramatic 3-3 draw in August 2021.

Having scored at least two goals in three of their last four matches, Levante may fancy their chances of troubling the Real Madrid backline on Tuesday, especially as they can compete with La Liga’s top sides in last month’s agonising  3-2 defeat to Barcelona.

Xabi Alonso has made an impressive start to his first campaign as Real Madrid boss, having seen his side record six consecutive victories in all competitons, including five successive wins in La Liga. 

Los Blancos dispatched Osasuna, Real Oviedo, Mallorca and Real Sociedad, before they kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory over French giants Marseille.

Real Madrid continued their winning run in Saturday’s home clash against Espanyol, as Eder Militao and Kylian Mbappe grabbed a goal apiece to condemn the Catalan side to their first defeat of the season.

For Alonso, the 2-0 scoreline saw him become the third Real Madrid manager to win his first five La Liga matches, following in the footsteps of Jose Quirante and Vanderlei Luxemburgo. 

Alonso will also be pleased with the fact that his team have conceded no more than one goal in any of his six competitive games in charge, and he will be targeting another strong defensive display in Tuesday’s away trip, as his side look to build momentum ahead of Saturday’s derby clash with city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid may be wary of the fact that they have failed to win six of their previous 10 games against Levante (D3, L3), although they will have fond memories of their most recent meeting in May 2022, when Vinicius Junior netted a hat-trick in a 6-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Levante La Liga form:

L L L D W

Real Madrid La Liga form:

W W W W W

Real Madrid form (all competitions):

W W W W W W

Team News

Levante have reported no fresh injury concerns, which means Calero should have a full squad at his disposal for Tuesday’s fixture. 

Midfielder Jon Ander Olasagasti is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to play over half an hour in Saturday’s win over Girona.

Etta Eyong and Romero are likely to be Levante’s main goal threats, having netted three league goals apiece this term.  

Real Madrid defender Trent Alexander-Arnold was ruled out for six to eight weeks after he sustained a hamstring injury in last Tuesday’s Champions League win over Marseille.

Alexander-Arnold is joined on Real Madrid’s injury list by fellow defenders Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy. 

In positive news, Dean Huijsen will return to the backline after serving a one-match suspension following his controversial red card against Real Sociedad.

Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz could come into the starting lineup if Alonso opts to alter his side for the midweek away trip.

Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga could be given more minutes off the bench after making their returns from injury as late substitutes on Saturday.

Levante possible starting lineup:

Ryan; Toljan, Elgezabal, Moreno, Sanchez; Vencedor, Olasagasti, Rey; Alvarez, Romero, Etta Eyong

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Huijsen, Militao, Carreras; Valverde, Tchouameni; Diaz, Guler, Vinicius; Mbappe

We say: Levante 1-3 Real Madrid

Levante have scored in four of their first five matches, so we can see them causing Real Madrid one or two problems in Tuesday’s contest.

However, the confident visitors should have far too much quality in their ranks for their newly-promoted opponents, which is why we a predicting a comfortable away win. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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