Just needing a draw, Levante will host Espanyol on Thursday, January 11, in the return leg of the round of 16 of the King’s Cup in their 2017/2018 version. The match will be held at the City of Valencia stadium in Valencia, starting at 16:30 (Brasília time).
In the first game, as a visitor, Levante made it 2-1. Thus, he is able to advance if he wins a new victory, equality or even be defeated by the minimum score. The Barcelona team needs a two-goal success so they can survive in the fight for the cup. If you can make three goals, a difference of one goal will be enough.
The recent performance of Levante
Levante had Barcelona as their opponents between matches against Espanyol. In Catalunya, he could not resist the greater power of rival and took 3 to 0 on Sunday, January 7. Expected result for a team with little economic power and whose sole objective is to guarantee the presence in the country’s elite soccer division.
Resting a journey to the complement of the first round of LaLiga, it reaches its goal. He added 18 points (three wins, nine draws and six losses). It occupies the sixteenth place in the classification. The situation, however, is not one of the most comfortable. The difference for the Alavés, eighteenth and first place in the relegation zone, is only three points.
He was in a much better position, but he had a recent income drop. He did not get a victory in the last seven games of LaLiga. It was four draws and three losses. Thus, success in the King’s Cup, especially having been conquered in the field of the rival, was an exception. Also because in the Spanish Championship the team only managed a victory in eight disputed matches. At home, performance is not much different. There were two wins in ten games.
For the duel of this Thursday the technician Juan Ramon Lopez Muniz depends on the position of the department with respect to four players to determine if they will be able to act. They are in treatment of injuries the defenders Chema (16 games in Spanish Championship 2017/2018, one goal) and Ivan Lopez (three games, without goal); and the attackers Alex Alegria (nine games, no goal) and Marti Roger (without performances).
The current form of Espanyol
Espanyol were able to recover from home failure in the first leg of the Round of 16 on Monday, 8 January. As a visitor, beat Malaga, by 1 to 0, in a game that was part of the schedule of the eighteenth round of the Spanish Championship.
It was enough for him to gain a place on the leaderboard and open up a bigger advantage over clubs that are threatened to fall to the Second Division. The Catalan team now has 23 points (six wins, five draws and seven losses). It is in the fourteenth position.
The success in Malaga was the first obtained by the team outside their domains in the season. So far, in eight matches, Espanyol had drawn four times and lost the other four. Even so, he still has to produce on Thursday a result that has not yet reached as a visitor in the 2017/2018 season.
Even in the previous phase of the King’s Cup, the Catalan side only drew with Tenerife, from the second division, away from home, 0-0, and needed the victory in their stadium, by 3 to 2, to get a place in the round of 16.
History of the bouts between Levante and Espanyol
The tie was the most recorded result in the most recent clashes between Espanyol and Levante. There were five equalities in the last eight games. This includes the 0-0 of the first round of the current edition of the Spanish Championship.
The five points that separate the teams in the classification of the Spanish Championship show a slight technical superiority of Espanyol. However, this is not a major difference. Acting at home and having the advantage that allows him to act closed in the defense hoping the opportunity to counterattack the Levante is better option for guess. It has a price of 2.70 in Rivalo. Draw returns 3.10. Success of the Barcelona team also yields 2.70.