Levante – Sevilla

Levante and Sevilla may settle for a draw based on their positions in the standings

On Thursday 21 April, Levante take on Sevilla at home. From a league point of view, the match is crucial for the two teams. The home side could mount a heroic comeback. The gap from seventeenth place is already four points. Sevilla, on the other hand, risk going down in history as the club that collapsed from title contender to the Europa League. Levante in the first part of the season was a sample of total bad luck. "The Frogs were mid-table in terms of quality of play, but failed to register a single win. In the second part, however, things picked up. Levante were unstoppable. Barcelona almost got caught in the crossfire. The Catalans got two goals, but still left Levante without a point. Alessio Lisca's men have been playing at the level of a European Cup challenger in the last ten rounds. The team are in ninth place. By comparison, Sevilla and Levante have picked up fourteen points each during that time. Levante have four wins. The team was also plagued by injuries in the first round. Several key players are still missing at the moment. Against Sevilla, Mustafi, Caceres and De Frutos will definitely not play. However, it is noticeable from the last stretch that the team has adapted to the losses. It's hard to believe, but from February 1 to the present, Levante are third in the number of threats to their opponents' goals. Only Real Madrid and Barcelona are ahead of them. This style of play continues to have an impact on defence. Sevilla are in a major crisis. The key match at this stage of the season may be the clash with Real. In the event of a win, Sevilla would go into the breakaway. At least the threat of losing fourth place would have disappeared. At the moment, the team are at risk of missing out on next year's Champions League. The margin over neighbours Betis is just three points, not even Real Sociedad have dropped out of the race, and Barcelona and Atletico are certain to be higher in the table. It all rests on depressed morale. It will be difficult for the team to recover from the defeat to Real Madrid. Added to that is a nasty injury. Anthony Marcial risks an early end to the season, having suffered a collision with Real Madrid player Casemiro. The encounter between Levante and Sevilla at first glance promises plenty of goals, but there is an alternative scenario. A draw from a tournament point of view would not be a bad result for either side. Sevilla would pick up a point and maintain at least a position in the top four, while Levante would take a step forward in the fight for survival. Perhaps, after a relatively open encounter with Barça, the team will opt for a more cautious option.