Overview
Levante has returned to La Liga this season after winning the Second Division, starting with a series of 3 defeats against Alaves, Barcelona and Elche. However, coach Julian Calero's team quickly turned the situation around, earning 4 points in the last 2 matches.
They drew dramatically with Real Betis and then crushed Girona 4-0 at Montilivi when their opponent had only 9 players left on the pitch.
Karlta Eyong opened the scoring between Girona's two red cards, before Carlos Alvarez, Ivan Romero and Goduine Koyalipou scored in turn, bringing Levante the first victory of the new season.
Returning to Ciutat de Valancia Stadium, Levante will host Real Madrid in their first home match against the Spanish giants since the memorable 3-3 draw in August 2021. With at least 2 goals scored in 3 of the last 4 matches, along with a brave performance against Barcelona (2-3 loss), Levante has reason to believe in the ability to cause difficulties for Real Madrid's defense.
Coach Xabi Alonso is having a perfect start to his first season leading Real Madrid, with 6 consecutive wins in all competitions, including 5 wins in La Liga.
Los Blancos beat Osasuna, Real Oviedo, Mallorca and Real Sociedad before opening the Champions League with a 2-1 win over Marseille.
Last weekend, Real Madrid continued their excellent form with a 2-0 victory over Espanyol at the Bernabeu, thanks to goals from Eder Militao and Kylian Mbappe. This result makes Alonso the third coach in the club's history to win all 5 of their first matches in La Liga, after Jose Quirante and Vanderlei Luxemburgo.
Not only maintaining their attacking power, Alonso's team also defended solidly, not conceding more than one goal in any official match this season. Real will want to extend that stability in the away match against Levante, thereby creating momentum before the Madrid derby with Atletico.
However, Real have reason to be cautious. They have won just four of their last 10 meetings with Levante (D3 L3). However, the memory of the 6-0 victory in May 2022, when Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick, is certainly still a great source of motivation for Los Blancos.
Personnel situation
Levante has not suffered any more injuries, meaning Julian Calero will have enough force for the match against Real Madrid.
Midfielder Jon Ander Olasagasti is competing for a starting spot after coming off the bench and playing for more than half an hour in the win over Girona.
The duo Karl Etta Eyong and Ivan Romero - each of whom has scored 3 goals in La Liga this season - promise to continue to be the biggest threat for the home team.
On the other hand, Real Madrid suffered a heavy loss when Trent Alexander-Arnold had to rest for 6-8 weeks due to a hamstring injury in the win over Marseille in the Champions League. He, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy are all on the injured list.
Good news for Xabi Alonso is that young centre-back Dean Huijsen will return from suspension, while Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz are likely to be given a starting chance if he rotates the squad for this away trip.
Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga, who returned last weekend, could be used from the bench to regain the ball feeling before the derby with Atletico Madrid.
Expected lineup:
Levante: Ryan, Toljan, Elgezabal, Moreno, Sanchez, Vencedor, Olasagasti, Rey, Alvarez, Romero, Etta Eyong.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Huijsen, Militao, Carreras, Valverde, Tchouameni, Diaz, Guler, Vinicius, Mbappe.
The match between Levante and Real Madrid takes place at 2:30 am on September 24 (Vietnam time).
