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.
#
Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
Real Madrid
33
26
6
1
71
22
+49
84
2
Barcelona
33
22
7
4
68
39
+29
73
3
Girona
33
22
5
6
69
40
+29
71
4
Atlético de Madrid
33
20
4
9
62
39
+23
64
5
Athletic Bilbao
33
16
10
7
53
33
+20
58
6
Real Sociedad
33
13
12
8
46
35
+11
51
7
Real Betis
33
12
13
8
41
39
+2
49
8
Valencia
33
13
8
12
37
38
-1
47
9
Villarreal
33
12
9
12
54
55
-1
45
10
Getafe
33
10
13
10
41
45
-4
43
11
Osasuna
33
11
6
16
37
49
-12
39
12
Alaves
33
10
8
15
31
38
-7
38
13
Sevilla
33
9
11
13
42
46
-4
38
14
Las Palmas
33
10
7
16
30
41
-11
37
15
Rayo Vallecano
33
7
13
13
27
42
-15
34
16
Mallorca
33
6
14
13
27
39
-12
32
17
Celta Vigo
33
7
10
16
37
50
-13
31
18
Cadiz
33
4
14
15
23
46
-23
26
19
Granada
33
4
9
20
36
61
-25
21
20
Almeria
33
1
11
21
32
67
-35
14
Please Gamble Responsibly