La Liga: Can Levante Pull Off Another Big Upset?

Atletico Madrid vs Levante UD

Ask any football fan who is keeping an eye about the current La Liga season, and they will likely tell you about how interesting the campaign has developed for all of the teams involved.

Barcelona are still the league leaders in the Spanish top flight, but everyone knows that they aren’t as invincible as they seem and their small hiccups have allowed Atletico Madrid to mount a serious challenge for the title.

However, the title chase won’t be entirely easy for the Rojiblancos. They will be facing an extremely confident Levante team that received a boon by beating the very same Blaugrana in the first leg of their Copa del Rey match.

They will be able to keep the pressure on the league leaders if they manage to come away with the victory. However, a team that is looking to end their winless streak is just as dangerous as a side that is already enjoying a fantastic time at the top.

Talking Points

Can Levante use Barca to win?

Levante aren’t the most intimidating team in the Spanish top flight. They are currently 10th in the league table and just came off a four-game winless streak in the league until they pulled off a superb upset against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. The Estadio Ciudad de Valencia were up on their feet as Erick Cabaco and Borja Mayoral scored two quick goals to give them the important win.

Sure, many will point out that Ernesto Valverde didn’t field his best team against Levante in order to give them some much-needed rest in a very compact schedule. However, that doesn’t discount the fact that the XI he fielded had Philippe Coutinho, Malcom and Arturo Vidal in their ranks.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time Levante took down a giant. Fans of the SBOBET La Liga market cannot possibly forget the major upset caused by the Granotas when they took down Real Madrid by a peg in October.

Moreover, they have the men capable of trading blows with the best Atletico have to offer. Jose Luis Morales and Roger Marti are leading the way in terms of scoring while Jason is doing a fine job of distributing the ball in the midfield.

Paco Lopez’s men have proven that they can take down any team in the league, and Atletico will be wrong not to take this seriously.

Antoine Griezmann aim to extend Atletico's unbeaten run of 15 games when they take on Levante in La Liga — Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann celebrates scoring their first goal

Atletico need this win

Things are going swimmingly for Los Colchoneros, but underneath the fine facade are the problems that are bugging the team that could possibly derail their title chase against Barca.

The first issue would be that Atletico don’t have any consistent goalscoring threat aside from Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman has scored eight league goals for the side, but there hasn’t been one man in the squad that has helped him in the attack. Their lack of firepower was obvious during their 1-1 draw against Sevilla.

Their other problems don’t directly affect their season, but it will surely have an impact on their future campaigns. Their defensive core of Diego Godin and Filipe Luis are in their early 30s, and I doubt that they will remain as effective as they are now. They need to find the future stars that will take over when they can’t perform to their expected standards any more.

Moreover, Godin made La Liga 2019 news over his future. There are reports that he is planning to leave the club for the Serie A, and his departure may be causing fractures in the locker room. Diego Simeone can only hope that the future of his star centre-back won’t fully affect his team’s performance against Levante.

History

These two clubs have met 26 times since the turn of the century, and they started the 2000s in the Segunda Division. Levante dominated Atletico that time, but the Rojiblancos have since then won 15 matches. Levante have only taken six games since then, and four were drawn.

Moreover, the most recent results haven’t been particularly friendly to the visitors: Atletico Madrid scored eight goals over them last season without conceding a single one.

However, it’s important to remember that both Girona and Sevilla managed to keep Atletico Madrid to 1-1 draws by fielding three-defender formations and clogging the middle of the final third to make life difficult for Griezmann and friends.

Betting Tip

	Atletico Madrid vs Levante UD	Atletico Madrid -1.75 @ 2.17
	January 13, 19:00 (GMT+8)

Life might be tough for Atletico ahead of this big match, and Atletico Madrid vs Levante odds back this claim. They have failed to score against considerable opposition, and there’s no solid attacking talent to help Griezmann get the goals the team needs. This is probably why they are looking at getting Alvaro Morata on loan from Chelsea.

However, they will be playing this match at the Wanda Metropolitano, and the fans will make sure that the Levante players will not feel at home in their stomping grounds. Moreover, the hosts managed to beat a strong team in Deportivo Alaves when they played there in December.

I choose to trust the Frenchman’s supreme attacking talent to help Atletico Madrid get at least two goals. If you aren’t comfortable with my recommendation, then the First Half Asian Handicap and the Total Goals markets have interesting odds that will surely pique your interest.