After losing to Atletico Madrid in the derby, Real Madrid are back in action on Thursday as they host troubled Levante in La Liga. The visitors are in desperate need for a win to boost their survival hopes but should be no match for Real.
Having already wrapped up the La Liga title, Real Madrid are now rotating the squad in a bid to keep their players fresh for the UEFA Champions League final. A much-changed team suffered a 1-0 defeat to local rivals Atletico Madrid in their previous La Liga fixture.
That was only the second defeat in 15 La Liga matches for Real Madrid, who have been the dominant team in the Spanish topflight. They have also won five of their last six home matches, including a 4-0 victory over Espanyol in their most recent fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Although heavy squad rotation is expected in the final three La Liga fixtures, manager Carlo Ancelotti will still be keen to ensure his players remain sharp ahead of the European showpiece. Having started on the bench in the derby, the likes of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric are likely to get a run-out on Thursday.
Levante boosted their survival hopes with an impressive 2-1 victory over Real Sociedad in their previous La Liga fixture. Following a tight first half, Jorge Miramon opened the scoring just after the restart while Gonzalo Melero struck the winner from the penalty spot deep into injury time.
That was only the fifth win in 15 La Liga matches for Levante, who continue to battle with inconsistency. However, it was an important result as it took them off the foot of the table, although they are still five points from safety.
Thursday’s clash is one of two away matches left for Levante this season and they will need to show improvement on their travels. They have claimed just two wins on the road all season and played out a 1-1 draw at Valencia in their previous away fixture.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Real Madrid as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 11/21 by SBK. A victory for Levante is valued at 5/1 by bet365 while SBK is also offering odds of 41/10 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Real Madrid and Levante have claimed three wins each and a draw in their last seven meetings. Both teams battled to a 3-3 draw in the reverse fixture back in August.
Players to watch
Rodrygo could be worth keeping an eye on for Madrid as he looks maintain his recent good form and put himself in contention to feature in the Champions League final. The Brazilian attacker has six goals in his last seven matches across all competitions and is priced at 13/8 by SBK to score on Thursday.
Much of Levante’s attacking threat is carried by Jose Luis Morales, who is their leading scorer with 12 La Liga goals. The attacker was also on target on his last visit to the Santiago Bernabeu and is priced at 9/4 by bet365 to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Real Madrid and Levante produced a six-goal thriller in the reverse fixture and another high scoring encounter could be on the cards on Thursday. Over 4.5 goals is valued at 9/4 by Sport Nation while over 3.5 goals is priced at 42/41 by SBK.
Given the minimal odds for a straight home victory, Real Madrid could be backed to earn a win and over 3.5 goals at 9/5 with Paddy Power. Both teams had first half goals in the reverse fixture and Thursday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 5/2 with bet365.
This La Liga match between Real Madrid and Levante will be played on May 12, 2022 and kick off at 20:30. Check below for our tipsters best Real Madrid vs Levante prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.