Real Betis will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in La Liga when they continue their 2020-21 campaign away to Levante on Tuesday night.
The Seville-based side are currently ninth in the table, having picked up 19 points from their opening 15 matches, while Levante occupy 15th, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Levante have won three, drawn six and lost five of their 14 La Liga matches this season to collect 15 points, which has left them in 15th position, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
The Frogs have had their problems in the opening months of the 2020-21 campaign but their recent run has been impressive, losing just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions.
Paco Lopez's side lost 1-0 at Barcelona on December 13 but responded with back-to-back wins over Racing Murcia and Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey and league respectively.
Levante were held to a 1-1 draw by basement side Huesca on December 22, though, and will be wary of what a defeat in this match could do to their position in the table, particularly ahead of a tough game at Villarreal on January 2.
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Betis, meanwhile, have actually lost eight of their 15 league matches this season, but they have collected 19 points via six wins and one draw, which has left them in ninth position in the table.
Despite their issues, Manuel Pellegrini's side are only four points off the top six, although it is difficult to read too much into the standings at this stage as a lot of teams have games in hand.
Like Levante, Betis will bring a relatively strong run of form into this game, losing just one of their last five matches in all competitions, recording three wins in the process.
The Green and Whites have picked up seven points from their last four league matches, meanwhile, including a 1-0 success over Cadiz last time out, with Guido Rodriguez scoring the only goal of the contest.
Betis recorded a 3-1 victory over Levante when these two teams met in Seville last season, but they suffered a 4-2 defeat in the corresponding clash in Valencia.
Levante La Liga form: DDWLWD
Levante form (all competitions): DWLWWD
Real Betis La Liga form: LLWDLW
Real Betis form (all competitions): LWDWLW
Team News
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Levante will be without the services of Sergio Postigo, Cheick Doukoure and Jose Campana through injury, while the match is also expected to come too soon for Enis Bardhi.
The home side's XI is expected to have a similar look to the one that started against Huesca last time out, with Roger Marti being joined by Gonzalo Melero in the final third of the field.
Dani Gomez, Sergio Leon and Jose Luis Morales are options for change, although Lopez is likely to keep faith with the team that claimed a point on December 22.
As for Betis, Emerson is available following a suspension and should return to the starting side, but the likes of Marc Bartra, William Carvalho, Claudio Bravo, Sidnei, Sergio Canales and Victor Camarasa are all still injured.
Pellegrini has options for change in the forward positions, with Cristian Tello, Loren Moron, Diego Lainez and Borja Iglesias all available for selection.
Aitor Ruibal should keep his spot in an attacking area, though, while Nabil Fekir and Antonio Sanabria are also expected to retain their places from the team that beat Cadiz 1-0 last time out.
Levante possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Coke, Vezo, Rober, Clerc; De Frutos, Vukcevic, Malsa, Rochina; Melero, Marti
Real Betis possible starting lineup:
Robles; Emerson, Mandi, Ruiz, Miranda; Guardado, Rodriguez; Ruibal, Joaquin, Fekir; Sanabria
We say: Levante 1-1 Real Betis
Levante have actually drawn six of their last nine La Liga matches 1-1, and we are predicting the same scoreline on Tuesday night. Betis will again be without a number of key players, and it is unlikely that either manager would be too unhappy if the spoils were shared in this game.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Real Betis win with a probability of 38.52%. A win for Levante had a probability of 34.86% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Real Betis win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.34%) and 0-2 (6.72%). The likeliest Levante win was 1-0 (9.6%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.65%). The actual scoreline of 4-3 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood.
