Real Madrid vs Levante Prediction: Real Win but no Clean Sheet

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Match Preview:

Real Madrid play their first league game since sacking Xabi Alonso this weekend. Levante are the visitors to the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday lunchtime, but it's the home players who could be in for a frosty welcome from their own supporters. 

While it's true that few followers of Los Blancos would have been impressed by what they saw during Alonso's brief tenure, they had not yet turned on their now ex-coach. The perception was that the players were not working hard enough, and in some cases not even interested in adapting to the methods of the 44-year-old. 

There were even public displays of disrespect towards Alonso, most notably from Vinícius Júnior, who has been jeered on his last two outings at the Bernabéu. He almost certainly won't be the only one to get that treatment on Saturday, after a dismal week that saw Real Madrid lose the Supercopa final 3-2 against Barcelona, before being dumped out of the Copa del Rey by the same scoreline against second-tier strugglers Albacete. 

That was Álvaro Arbeloa's first match at the helm. The former B-team boss was promoted to the top job following the dismissal of Alonso. He is well thought of at boardroom level, but no contract length has been formally announced, which suggests he will need to impress if he's to be in the job beyond the rest of this campaign. 

He couldn't realistically have made a worse start. The 42-year-old opted to rest the likes of Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois at the Estádio Carlos Belmonte. However, it is worth noting that Albacete also made eight changes for the game, as they prioritised their bid to stay in the Segunda División. 

A shocking performance from Los Blancos resulted in a humiliating defeat against a team that had never previously beaten them. It's safe to say that Arbeloa needs a positive reaction from his players against Levante this weekend. 

Anything short of a win would be a disastrous outcome for Real Madrid, as they bid to stay in touch with in-form Barça in the Spanish title race. However, they can expect few favours from a Levante side that has made a positive start to life under the recently-appointed Luís Castro. 

The Portuguese coach oversaw a 3-0 victory at Sevilla in his first match earlier this month. The Valencia club are now unbeaten in three league games overall, after a 1-1 draw at home to Espanyol last weekend. 

It was always going to be a struggle on their return to the top flight after three years in the Segunda División. They remain winless at home, and were beaten 4-1 by Real Madrid in the reverse fixture back in September. However, some strong away performances have given Los Granotes hope in their fight for survival. 

They're carrying enough of a threat in the final third to ask questions of most opponents. 22-year-old Karl Etta Eyong has been a revelation up front, scoring five times since a late move from Villarreal in the summer. He's now back from AFCON duty with Cameroon, in a further boost for the new boss. 

Castro has also shown real faith in loanee Iker Losada, in one of the most notable shifts of his short reign to date. The 24-year-old has responded positively with goals in back-to-back matches. 

Team News: 

Real Madrid are missing defenders Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rüdiger, and Ferland Mendy to injury, while Brahim Díaz will take part in the AFCON final this weekend with Morocco. 

They also have fitness doubts over Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo. Their final lineup will depend on whether either of those players recover in time for this early kick-off. In-form youngster Gonzalo García is on standby again, in case Mbappé isn't deemed ready to start up top. 

As for Levante, they've got four injury absentees. Winger Roger Brugué has been ruled out for the rest of the season, after tearing his ACL. Meanwhile, Víctor García, Diego Pampín and Unai Elgezabal will also miss the trip to the Spanish capital. 

Etta Eyong was only on the bench last time out, but will be pushing for a starting role again, while Manu Sánchez is expected to replace the injured Pampín at left-back.