Football Previews
Levante coach Lucas Alcaraz has called on his players to take confidence from their performance at Getafe as their Primera Division survival fight reaches a critical point against bottom-side Cordoba on Tuesday. The Valencia-based outfit ended a three-match winless run with a 1-0 triumph at Getafe on Sunday. The victory, Levante’s eighth of the campaign, lifted them to 15th place in the standings, three points clear of the relegation zone with five games remaining. “This was an important win in our battle to defend our top-flight status,” Alcaraz told the Spanish press. “At this stage of the campaign it’s difficult to win games. “This victory gets us close to our aim.” Alcaraz was pleased with his team’s display as for the first time since January 9 his team kept a clean sheet. “We played a very good game defensively, something we had worked on, and we were rewarded,” he said. “But we have to continue to work.” Alcaraz has called on his club supporters to get behind the team in Tuesday’s match. Levante have not come out triumphant at home since a 2-1 win over Eibar on March 6. “Tuesday’s game is very important,” Alcaraz said. “We need all the help we can get because any mistake now can get you back on dangerous ground. “We expect a difficult game against a rival that will come here determined to take three points.” Cordoba travel to the Ciutat de Valencia stadium knowing they are running out of time to avoid the drop. The Andalusian side are without a win since January 12 and have collected three points since. Last week’s 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao, their seventh consecutive loss at home, left Cordoba at the foot of the standings, 11 points adrift of safety. Cordoba, who host league leaders Barcelona on Saturday, know their chances of survival are slim. “It’s going to be very difficult,” Cordoba coach Jose Antonio Romero said. “There are still 15 points up for grabs and we will try to do the best we can.” Lack of goalscoring has been Cordoba’s biggest problem, with Romero’s side having scored just 21 goals in 33 games.
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Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
Barcelona
13
11
0
2
40
12
+28
33
2
Real Madrid
12
8
3
1
25
11
+14
27
3
Atlético de Madrid
13
7
5
1
19
7
+12
26
4
Villarreal
12
7
3
2
23
19
+4
24
5
Osasuna
13
6
3
4
17
20
-3
21
6
Athletic Bilbao
13
5
5
3
19
13
+6
20
7
Real Betis
13
5
5
3
14
12
+2
20
8
Real Sociedad
13
5
3
5
11
10
+1
18
9
Mallorca
13
5
3
5
10
10
+0
18
10
Girona
13
5
3
5
16
17
-1
18
11
Celta Vigo
13
5
2
6
20
22
-2
17
12
Rayo Vallecano
12
4
4
4
13
13
+0
16
13
Sevilla
13
4
3
6
12
18
-6
15
14
Leganes
13
3
5
5
13
16
-3
14
15
Alaves
13
4
1
8
14
22
-8
13
16
Las Palmas
13
3
3
7
16
22
-6
12
17
Getafe
13
1
7
5
8
11
-3
10
18
Espanyol
12
3
1
8
11
22
-11
10
19
Real Valladolid
13
2
3
8
10
25
-15
9
20
Valencia
11
1
4
6
8
17
-9
7
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