Levante
Athletic Bilbao
4 March 2021
20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Copa Del Rey
Ciudad de Valencia
A spot in the Copa del Rey final will be at stake when Levante and Athletic Club face each other at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia on Thursday.
Los Levantinos did well to hold the Basques to a 1-1 draw at Stadio San Mames, and, no doubt, they are going to adopt a defence-minded approach in the return leg.
The two teams shared the spoils (1-1) in La Liga at the weekend as well, meaning that yet another close encounter is on the cards.
Defender Ruben Vezo returns from the La Liga ban for the hosts. The Lions welcome duo Dani Garcia – Unai Lopez back to the squad, and, as always, a man to watch in the away team will be Inaki Williams.
Inigo Martinez could miss the game following his sending off in the La Liga encounter with Levante. Anyhow, share of spoils is on the cards at Estadi Ciutat de Valencia.
Levante vs Athletic Bilbao Head-to-head
Teams Levante Athletic Bilbao played so far 27 matches.
Levante won 6 direct matches. Athletic Bilbao won 17 matches. 4 matches ended in a draw. On average in direct matches both teams scored a 2.74 goals per Match.
Levante vs Athletic Bilbao Prediction
Levante in actual season average scored 1.58 goals per match. In 14 (82.35%) matches played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 8 (47.06%) matches in season 2021 played at home was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Athletic Bilbao average scored 1.47 goals per match in season 2021. In 17 (85.00%) matches played away was total goals (team and opponent) Over 1.5 goals. In 13 (65.00%) matches played away team was total goals (team and opponent) Over 2.5 goals.
Team News:
Levante remain without several important players through injury, including Enis Bardhi, who missed the last game with a muscle injury after scoring his first goal of the season against Atletico Madrid.
He is joined on the sidelines by the midfield trio of Jose Campana, Gonzalo Melero and Nemanja Radoja, who are all out with injuries.
Paco Lopez's defence has also taken a hit, as experienced centre-back Sergio Postigo is out of contention with a muscle injury.
However, they will be boosted by the return of defender Ruben Vezo, who served a suspension last time out having picked up his fifth La Liga yellow card of the season.
Dani Cardenas and Aitor Fernandez have battled for the goalkeeper slot this campaign, with Fernandez starting the last match despite Cardenas featuring in the first leg of the semi-final.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be without Inigo Martinez, who scored in the first leg of this tie, as he will serve a suspension for a red card shown late in the recent league clash with Levante.
However, they will have the boost of the returning midfield pairing of Unai Lopez and Dani Garcia, after they both served suspensions in the recent league draw with Levante.
Levante possible starting lineup:
Cardenas; Vezo, Duarte, Rober; Coke, Vukcevic, Rochina, Clerc; De Frutos, Marti, Morales
Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:
Simon; Capa, Nunez, Alvarez, Berchiche; Berenguer, D Garcia, Lopez, Muniain; Williams, R Garcia