Will Valencia’s losing streak end in the Derby del Turia?
The last international break of the year is over and the top European leagues are entering the final stretch of the season. In Spain, the city derby in Valencia opens the matchday in La Liga. In the Derby del Turia, the bookies’ odds favor a Valencia vs. Levante tip in favor of the hosts.
Given that FC Valencia’s small neighbor has never won a match at the Estadio Mestalla, this is a reasonable assessment by the betting providers at first glance. Nevertheless, the promoted team has performed well in away games in the Spanish top flight so far, while Valencia has been waiting for its next win for seven match days now. Not only for this reason, but also because of the derby character of this game, we are not focusing primarily on the three-way market in our Valencia vs. Levante prediction.
Based on the impressions of both teams so far this season, we expect value from the somewhat overpriced Valencia vs. Levante odds for a high-scoring game this Friday.
Valencia – Levante Head-to-head record / H2H balance
The record for this fixture speaks relatively clearly in Valencia’s favor. With 15 wins from 32 games, the Bats have won around half of all matches. Levante has only managed eight wins, with nine draws. At home in the Estadio Mestalla, Valencia CF is even unbeaten against its city rivals.
Ten of 16 games in the city derby have gone to the six-time Spanish champions, with six draws. Unsurprisingly, the Valencia vs. Levante betting odds for this Friday once again favor the home team.
Valencia – Levante Tip
The glory days of Valencia CF, with numerous national and international titles, are long gone. This season, Carlos Corberan’s team, who took over the team in December last year and led them to safety, are once again fighting against relegation. In the new season, the Bats are currently only in the first non-relegation spot in the Spanish top flight due to their superior goal difference over Girona.
The glorious Valencia CF managed only two meager wins in the first twelve matchdays. Corberan’s team celebrated both victories at home, where they performed much better than away and remained unbeaten in four of six games (2-2-2). However, the series of seven consecutive league games without a win does not necessarily inspire confidence in a Valencia vs. Levante prediction for the next home win.
Nevertheless, we assume that the Bats will at least score against their city rivals. Valencia have only failed to score in one home game this season, but they have also kept a clean sheet in only two of their home games. The vulnerable defense could well have problems again against their neighbors, who are strong in attack and dangerous on the counter.
While newly promoted Levante is the weakest home team in the league, Julian Calero Fernandez’s team has fared much better away from home so far. In four of their seven away games this season, last year’s La Liga 2 champions have remained unbeaten (2-2-3). So it’s good for Levante that they will be playing “away” again this Friday against city rivals Valencia.
We believe the “Granotes” are capable of taking a point there. However, it is unlikely to be enough for their first ever win at Valencia CF. We also expect Levante to score against their neighbors’ vulnerable defense. The promoted team has failed to score in only one of their six away games, but they have only kept two clean sheets on the road so far.
Levante even scored against the extremely strong home and defensive Champions League participants Atletico Madrid – almost twice, but the second goal was disallowed after a close decision by the VAR. That’s why we’re betting on both teams scoring in our Valencia vs. Levante prediction at the best sports betting providers. If we are right, this would continue a streak. In each of the last five derbies at the Estadio Mestalla (competitive games only), both teams have scored.
