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Real Madrid will continue their 2017-18 La Liga campaign against Levante this Saturday. Real currently sit fifth in the table on four points, and Levante are sitting right behind them in sixth with four points as well.
Levante are coming off a 1-0 win over Villarreal in week one, and a 2-2 draw against Deportivo on match-day two. They’ve started off their return to the Spanish top flight with relative success. Getting a quick four points is nothing to scoff at, and they’ll at the very least present some sort of challenge to Real in certain facets of the game.
Real are coming off a 2-2 draw against Valencia after opening the season up with a 3-0 win over Deportivo. A brace from Marco Asensio was enough to capture the draw against Valencia last week.
One of the clear takeaways from Real’s early season performances is that there are three players seemingly playing for one spot. Gareth Bale’s performances, while not terrible by any stretch, haven’t been enough to fend off brilliant displays from Isco and Marco Asensio early on.
Once again, Real will be without Cristiano Ronaldo this week, so it affords Zinedine Zidane more time to figure out how Isco, Asensio, and Bale will fit into Real’s consistent starting lineup. At the very least, we expect to see more of Isco and Asensio in some capacity against Levante. Which based on their recent form, will be a treat in of itself.
The recent history between these two sides at the Bernabeu isn’t great for Levante. In 11 trips to play Real away, they’ve only come away with a win once. They’ve also been unable to score in their last three visits.
Projected starting XI:
Real Madrid: Casilla; Carvajal, Ramos, Nacho, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Kovacic; Isco, Bale, Benzema
Levante: Raul, Chema, Postigo, Tono, Lopez, Bardhi, Campana, Lerma, Alegria, Jason, Doukoure
How to watch
Date: 09/09/2017
Time: 13:00 CET, 07:00am EST, 04:00 am Pacific.
Venue: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain.
Available TV: BeIN Sports (USA), Sky Sports Football (UK), BeIN La Liga (Spain).
Available Streaming: BeIN Sports (USA), Fubo.TV (EVERY Real Madrid game with a high-quality and legal stream, click here to sign up and benefit from a summer discount for new members and Managing Madrid readers).
Prediction: Real Madrid 3-0 Levante (Benzema x2, Asensio)